4A Playoffs: Kosciusko rides big fifth inning to wild, 9-6 win over Sumrall

HATTIESBURG — The Kosciusko Whippets are no strangers to high-drama games in the 4A State Championship Series at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.

Not after scoring four runs against North Pike in the bottom of the eighth to walk off with the 2021 State Championship in a wild, decisive third game here a year ago.

So they were fully prepared for Tuesday night’s back-and-forth, 9-6 victory over Sumrall, a win that didn’t feel secure until the final out was in the bag.

“We talked about that game all night,” Kosciusko coach Tony Terry said. “We know anything can happen. It’s just like our North State series with West Lauderdale — we were down 6-0, came back and scored six runs to send it to extra innings, then scored 10 in the top of the ninth. That's how we got here."

Tuesday night's game was all over the place as well.

Kosciusko led it 1-0 after one inning, trailed 3-2 after three innings and 4-2 after four.

But these are the same Whippets that have claimed North State in four of the last five years, now vying for their third state championship in that stretch.

Kosiusko’s big bat Mary Kimble Price got things going in the top of the fifth with a double to left-center, and after a walk from Campbell Blaine and a Gracie Williams single, the bases were loaded.

That’s when Alexandra West laced a hard ground ball to second that was too hot for the Sumrall defense to handle. Blaine and Kelly Goss, who came on to run for Price, both scored to tie the game.

But the Whippets weren’t done — Maicee Coleman followed with a single up the middle to bring Williams home, and Elizabeth Jones singled to drive in West from third. To make matters worse, the Bobcats gifted the Whippets two more runs with another fielding error followed by a Makynlee Dickerson infield single.

When the dust settled, Kosckiusko had sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored six runs to take a 8-4 lead.

Sumrall scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to trim the Whippets’ lead back to 8-6 and the two teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh inning, but it was too little, too late for the Bobcats.

The win really was a complete team effort for Kosciusko — no hitter had more than one RBI, and seven different Whippets recorded at least one hit.

Blaine went 2-for-2 with two walks, one double, an RBI and two runs scored. Dickerson went 2-for-4, drove in a run and scored twice. Coleman also went 2-for-4, scored a run and drove in another.

“One thing about it us is this stage isn’t too big for them,” Terry said. “It’s great to hit it one-through-nine when you can get it. Really, my hats off to their right fielder (Anna Grace Shows), she made some fantastic plays out there and robbed us of a few more.”

Anna Grace Whitehead got the win on the mound, but it wasn’t pretty. The sophomore gave up seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits and one walk. She only gave up one extra base hit — an RBI double from Shaylee Ingram in the third.

Sumrall hit the ball well and got a solid pitching performance out of starter Ashlyn Burkhalter, who went 4-for-4 at the plate, but the errors were too much to overcome.

Only two of the seven runs Burkhalter gave up were earned,. Reliever Avery Smith, who came on to get the final seven outs for Sumrall, was saddled with two more unearned runs.

Game Two in the series is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.