LEXINGTON — It has been a memorable season for Jeremy Shope’s Whitley County Colonels, and it is far from over.
The Colonels (35-4) await the beginning of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament, which begins Thursday.
But how they got to where they are today, was nothing but impressive.
“ We will always have the goal of winning the regional championship,” Shope admitted. “I’d be lying if I thought we’d be 35-4 right now. Baseball can be such a funny game. These boys have just found a way even when we didn’t play very good.”
Whitley County entered the season as the No. 2 ranked team in the 13th Region. After the Colonels’ 7-5 win over defending 13th Region champion Corbin in the finals of the Kentucky 2A Section 7 title game, they moved into the No. 1 spot in the regional rankings on March 26, and have been there since.
“We really swung the bat well early in the season,” Shope said. “We scored 10 plus runs four out of the first five games with one of those coming in a 7-0 deficit in the 2A Sectional tournament. I knew we had a good team when I saw the never-say-die type attitude. We ended up winning the 2A Sectional.
“We went to the 2A tournament and lost in the 2A State Championship in a heartbreaker,” he added. “We then came back and swept Corbin while being short handed with our pitching staff. This group really gelled throughout the year. It’s been a fun group to coach.”
The rivalry between Whitley County, and Corbin lasted throughout the season due to the two teams playing five times.
The Colonels won the first three games while the Redhounds picked up a 7-1 win in the 50th District Tournament’s championship game.
Whitley County didn’t seem bothered, though.
The Colonels had already put together win streaks of 11, nine, eight, and four game win streaks, so they knew how to win against some good the best teams in the state.
They did it behind one of the best hitting, and pitching teams around.
Whitley County got revenge against Middlesboro in the first round of the 13th Region Baseball Tournament after being upset by the Yellow Jackets just the year before.
Then came a 9-2 win over North Laurel before the Colonels’ fourth win over Corbin in the regional finals — a 7-1 decision.
Most assumed a trip to Lexington would be between Whitley County, and the Redhounds, but many didn’t know who would be making the trip.
If folks paid attention the entire season, they would have known the Colonels always plays their best when it matters most.
“Our kids believe and when you believe anything is possible,” Shope said. “We will go into this state tournament with one goal in mind — win. Baseball is a tough sport in a single elimination tournament. We just want to make sure that we have no regrets when it’s all over. We’re going to play our guts out.”
