'Jacks wind up season with loss at Coppell

A 4-2 loss to Coppell was the way the very first season of the East Texas Pump Jacks would close, a Texas Collegiate League playoff defeat at the hands of the Copperheads in Coppell.

At press time, no other information was available about Wednesday's game. The Pump Jacks finished the season with a 22-28 record, swept by the Copperheads in two games in the TCL's first round. The Copperheads, including Kilgore native Jaron Shepherd, move on to the league's championship series against either McKinney or Brazos Valley. That series, also a best-of-three, is scheduled to begin Friday.

If McKinney wins the series, the Marshals will have the home field advantage. If Brazos Valley wins that series, the championship series home field advantage will be Coppell's. After rallying to claim at least the third seed in the playoffs, the Pump Jacks dropped their last four games, all to Coppell.

The Pump Jacks' first season would be considered a success. The 'Jacks opened the season on June 10 in McKinney, and opened here at Driller Park on June 12 in front of more than 1,000 fans. Fireworks Fridays regularly drew large crowds, including one of almost 1,400.

The Texas Collegiate League is a wooden-bat summer league that boasts some of the country's best college players. The players aren't paid, and many stay with host families. Two former Kilgore High School players — Pat McCrory (now at the University of Texas) and Logan Chitwood (now at Navarro) — suited up for the Pump Jacks this season.