A very good season for Ethel baseball came to an end when the Tigers were swept by Resurrection in the 1A South State final 13-1 and 10-0.
“We just didn’t have any answers,” said coach Chris Schuster. “They have kids throwing 85 to 88 miles per hour. That’s tough to hit. We competed. We gave it everything we have.”
He told his players that the losses do not distract from what the team accomplished this year with a 27-9 record, including 10-0 as Region 5-1A champion and an 18-game winning streak. The Tigers won three playoff rounds before running into Resurrection.
“Every team is graded on the last game, but this team did so many things. Set school records in the number of wins, number of wins in a row. You can’t take anything away from them. They just ran up against a team that would win a lot of classifications. I wouldn’t be surprised if they would win 1A through 5A.”
Resurrection lost only two games against Mississippi opponents.
The Tigers only run in the two games came in the fifth inning of the first game on two walks and a single by Gabe Cain. Ethel was outhit 24-5 in the two games. The 13-1 loss in the series opener was Ethel’s first home loss of the season.,
Joe Scarborough was the star for Resurrection. He led a 12-hit attack in the first game with a homer, two singles and four RBIs and pitched a one-hitter in the second game with eight strikeouts.
Ethel had five seniors – Cyrus Rone, Kameron McCuller, Tyler Weaver, Hayden Langford and Brent Bell. All but Bell were starters.
Schuster is optimistic about the future. “I have some juniors and sophomores who are going to fill those roles and a I have some younger guys who are going to grow up.”
Ethel will compete in a summer league in June with doubleheaders on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other teams are Kosciusko, Eupora, East Webster, Choctaw County and Louisville.
“I use the summer league as a tryout just to see who is going to pick up the slack.”
Resurrection (31-5) is playing for the championship at Trustmark Park in Pearl for the second year in a row against North State champion Biggersville. The Eagles are hoping for a better result than last year when they were swept by Tupelo Christian.
