The Yazoo County High School baseball team was riding high heading into the second round of the Class 3A playoffs after posting the first-ever playoff series win in school history with a sweep of Crystal Springs. Unfortunately for the Panthers, their season came to a screeching halt after suffering back-to-back losses in the second round to the powerful Clarkdale Bulldogs.
After a gut-wrenching, nine inning battle with the Bulldogs in Game One (which they eventually dropped 4-3) the Panthers returned home last week but couldn’t find the momentum needed in Game Two, suffering a 15-0 loss. Yazoo County finished the season with a 16-11 overall record and a 4-4 district mark.
“We went there and dropped a 4-3 decision in 9 innings and (today) we just played emotionally and physically drained,” said YCHS head coach Corbin Ellis. “We were ready to play, but we just didn’t have gas in the tank today.”
After a scoreless first inning, the Bulldog bats began to heat up in the top of the second inning. Holding a 5-0 lead, Clarkdale went on a two-out rally scoring two runs on an infield error and another on an RBI single to centerfield to push the lead to 8-0. With a runner in scoring position, a Bulldog batter belted a line drive shot to left field, but Yazoo County outfielder Franco Whisenton made a spectacular, Superman-like diving catch to get the Panthers out of the inning.
Neither team recorded a run in the third inning and the score remained 8-0 heading into the top of the fourth. The Bulldogs again found themselves in a two-out hole before this time going on a seven-run rally to push their lead to 15-0. Yazoo County’s Demarion Luckett singled to get on first base in the bottom half of the inning but, Panthers couldn’t bring him home.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, Ellis is proud of the improvements his team made all season long.
Said Ellis, “Coming into this year we had five seniors, no juniors and everybody else was freshman and sophomores. They were supposed to get their experience last season but of course Covid took their season away so we were basically starting over. We had two senior starters and everybody else was a first-time starter. Our goal was .500, but somewhere around the middle of the season it started clicking. We finished the regular season 14-9, five games above .500. We were in a tough district with Magee and St. Andrews and we finished 4-4 and won our first playoff series ever (vs. Crystal Springs).”
Leading the way for the Panthers was a group of seniors including Whisenton, Ethan Hill, Manari Paige, Marico Crozier, and Tylan Williams.
Added Ellis: “We’re pretty much ready to go next season. We’re losing two starters but everyone else is back. In Hill and Franco we’re losing some decent pitching, real good pitching with Hill especially. Clarkdale is a very good team and Hill threw a complete game against them the other night, allowing only four runs while striking out 11. That shows what kind of player he is.”
“With our young arms, hopefully we can get in the weight room and get this Covid stuff behind us so we can have a full offseason of workouts and summer ball,” said Ellis. “I’m excited about the group coming. This was supposed to be our learning curve year and we’ve exceeded all expectations so it really can’t go anywhere but up.”
