Sharpe homers, strikes out 11 as KHS wins
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

Photo by Lester Murray STRRRRIIIKE! - Kilgore pitcher Danny Sharpe (left) hurls a pitch to the plate. Sharpe had a big night both on the mound and at the plate Tuesday at Pine Tree High School's Field of Dreams, striking out 11 Pirates and then belting two home runs to help KHS to a huge 6-4 win over PT in District 12-4A. The Diamond 'Dogs are right in the thick of the playoff race in the district, currently tied with Marshall for the third playoff spot. Kilgore hosts Hallsville, the district's secondplace team, on Friday night at Driller Park; Marshall will face the district leader, Nacogdoches. Also, Henderson is just one game behind KHS and Marshall, with each team having just three games left in the regular season.

The cool zone has turned into a hot zone.

The Kilgore High School Bulldogs baseball team lost two in a row to Whitehouse and Nacogdoches the first week of April. Those losses seemed to have galvanized the team somewhat, awakening them to the point that they've won two straight at a very good time.

Pine Tree's Pirates were the latest victim, with Kilgore getting out of Longview Tuesday night with a 6-4 eight-inning win, a win that saw pitcher Danny Sharpe strike out 11 Pirates, then hit two home runs to help his own cause.

The win, coupled with a Henderson loss, means Kilgore and Marshall are tied for the third and final playoff spot in District 12-4A, with three games left to play, although Henderson isn't out of the mix by any means. Kilgore (12-9 overall, 6-5 in district play) will host Hallsville, the district's No. 2 team, on Friday night. Marshall plays district-leading Nacogdoches, and Henderson faces Whitehouse, a non-playoff contender.

Also, with the loss, Pine Tree was eliminated from playoff contention, as well. Kilgore swept the Pirates this season.

Kilgore coach Jeff Blackstone knows the race will come down to the wire.

"We had to have that one," Blackstone said, of the Pine Tree game. "It's setting up to be close the rest of the way."

Both of Sharpe's home runs were solo shots. On the mound, he gave up just five hits all night to go with those 11 strikeouts.

And he was backed up by good offense, something that the Diamond 'Dogs haven't had, really, since the early part of the district schedule. In addition to Sharpe's homers (he actually went 3-for- 4, also getting an RBI single, too), Kilgore had seven more hits, including a triple by catcher Chris Dudley, three singles by center fielder Andrew Ector and a double from Nick Sullivan, who has came on lately - 10 hits in all.

"We did strike out quite a bit," Blackstone added, "...but overall I thought we hit better. We made a couple of errors when they scored their runs. I felt like we made some pretty good defensive plays, too."

Sharpe broke a 1-all tie in the top of the fourth with one home run (making it 2-1), and then Sullivan's hit in the top of the fifth, a double, allowed him to get on, and he would score on an error to give KHS a 3-1 lead.

The Pirates tied it with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, and then Sharpe knotted it again with a second solo home run in the top of the sixth, tying it at 4.

Sharpe's RBI single came in the eighth, and then Dudley tripled to score teammate and shortstop Steven McBryde. That gave Kilgore a 6-4 lead, and PT was unable to score in the bottom half of the inning.

Freshman pitcher Brett McAfee took the loss for PT, allowing 10 hits and striking out nine.

The Bulldogs' game with Hallsville on Friday will be played here at Driller Park, a 6 p.m. start.