Williamsburg —The Whitley County Colonels are set to begin their 2024 season after a 39-4 season last year, ranked 4th in the nation for season wins, along with taking a Region Championship title, and a State Championship title into their possession. When I asked Coach Shope what his teams’ goals for this year he said, “Our goal is always simple. We want our players and coaches to pour their heart and soul into our program so that there are no regrets when it’s over. Everyone in our program has the goal to compete for district, region, and state championships.”
Shopes’ Colonel squad lost four key members of their starting line-up, with two of those being big arms for his team. Grant Zehr, and Mason Croley both were in the Colonels rotation. Furthermore, the Colonels lost left fielder Andrew Stack, and their right fielder Sam Harp. “We lose seniors every year. Although we lost 4 really good seniors who were deep rooted into our program, it is now next man up. We return another group of seniors that are deep rooted into our program. Looking forward to how they lead the 2024 team.” Shope said after being asked how his team has adjusted, after losing Croley, Harp, Stack, and Zehr. He also added “We had two dogs on the mound last year. We graduated them. We want others to want to be those guys. It’s their turn. We are excited about what this year’s pitching staff can do. We have some veterans and we have some pups. It’s going to be fun.” when I asked what his pitching staff was looking like.
The Colonels lost some but also picked a few up, Including Sophomore from North Laurel EJ Allen and his younger brother Kip Allen. When asked who his competition should watch out for he said, “It’s always hard for me to just pick out 5 players that should be watched. I believe that everyone in our program can provide an integral part in having a successful season. I’ll leave it up to the media to decide that.”
The Colonels have already started to roll through the competition as they took a 4-1 win over Fredrick Douglass during their March 3rd scrimmage. The Colonels take the road on March 12th to Rockcastle, game time is set for 6:00 P.M. They Return to Colonel Stadium on March 15 when they take on Madison Southern, game time for that one is also set for 6:00 P.M.
