The Kosciusko Lady Whippets dropped two contests to Tishomingo County in the MHSAA Class 4A North State championship series to conclude their season at 31-3.
Tishomingo County earned a 5-3 win on Friday, and the Lady Braves grabbed another 5-3 win Monday to sweep the series.
After Monday’s loss, Kosciusko coach Tony Terry had a clear message for his players.
“We had a great season, and this series doesn’t define the legacy of this team,” Terry said. “All the time in life, there are going to be some disappointments, and that’s just part of it. I know we had a bigger goal, but it shouldn’t take away from all the fantastic things they did this year and the way that they fought and the way that they came together as a team.”
Maddy Gilmore tallied a team-high four hits in the series. The Lady Whippets combined for nine hits in the series opener, and they added eight more hits in Game 2. Katie Mitchell received nod at starting pitcher in Game 1, and she struck out two and allowed eight hits over seven innings. Gilmore surrendered just two hits in Game 2, She posted six strikeouts over six innings.
“Obviously we didn’t play our best ball, but you have to give a lot of credit to Tishomingo because they were a tough team,” Terry said. “They competed hard. They’re a senior-laden team that did all the little things right. They didn’t kick it around, they go two-out hits, and that’s how you win ball games.”
Monday’s loss signaled the end of an era for the three members of Kosciusko’s senior class: Katie Mitchell, Maddy Gilmore and Madeline McCown. McCown missed her senior season after suffering an ACL injury during Kosciusko’s first week of practice.
“In the six years that they’ve been here, we’ve had six straight division championships, five straight North State championship appearances, two state championship appearances and one state championship,” Terry said. “They’ve been a tremendous part of the team, and they’re grinders who everyone on the team respects. They’ve been great leaders for me. That’s a pretty great legacy – you can’t get much better than that.”
