Game of the year!
Bulldogs hold off late-charging Marshall to clinch playoff berth
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

MEMORABLE NIGHT AT DRILLER - Kilgore High School's baseball team defeated Marshall, 4-2, on Friday night at Driller Park, clinching the final playoff spot in District 12-4A in the last regular-season game. Clockwise from top: Kilgore's Steven McBryde lets out a sigh on his way back to the dugout, after scoring. Above: Trace DeBerry (left) makes a tag on P.J. Talley on a big play in the seventh inning. Left: DeBerry, the Bulldogs' only senior, was honored before the game with his parents. And top left: Kilgore's Danny Sharpe (23) belts a 2-RBI single that gave KHS the early lead.

An enthusiastic crowd, a playoff-like atmosphere and a good weather night for baseball, combined with the token of the winner making the playoffs and the loser staying home was a recipe for a fantastic baseball game at Driller Park on Friday night between the Kilgore High School Bulldogs and the Marshall High School Mavericks.

Kilgore controlled the tempo and the game for much of the contest, and weathered a Mavericks' comeback in the final two innings, holding on for a 4-2 win.

That victory secured the No. 3 playoff spot in District 12- 4A for the Diamond 'Dogs, who have made the Class 4A playoffs for six straight seasons, having had quite a bit of success along the way. Kilgore (15-11 overall this season) will face Sulphur Springs in a one-game 4A bi-district playoff series on Friday night at 7 p.m. The winner, obviously, will move on to the area round.

Saturday morning, Kilgore head coach Jeff Blackstone was still near speechless about the finish of Friday's win over Marshall.

"What a game," Blackstone said. "I told (assistant coach) Ronnie Garvin that I don't think I'd seen that exciting of a game since I coached in a regional semifinal a few years ago. It really was one heck of a ball game."

Kilgore pitcher Danny Sharpe, a junior, was at the center of the drama. Sharpe pitched Kilgore to a win Tuesday night in Henderson that was, at the time, a big factor in setting up Friday's showdown with Marshall. To have Sharpe come back on Friday night and throw against the Mavericks was a gamble, indeed, but one Blackstone took - and it would pay off.

Sharpe was just that - sharp - for almost the entire game. He got help from a Bulldogs' defense that played solid ball, as well, and made few mistakes. When Sharpe began to appear tired late in the contest, the Mavericks tried to sneak back into the game.

Kilgore led 4-0 going into the sixth inning, and Marshall picked up a run when catcher Jared Gobert, who reached on a KHS error, scored on an RBI single by Jackson Hood, who had two of the Mavericks' three hits off Sharpe. But Sharpe struck out Shaun Roberts to end the threat.

The top of the seventh was even more dramatic.

Chase Dotson reached on a walk, then scored on a double by No. 9 hitter P.J. Talley. But the biggest play of the game probably happened because the Mavs got a little greedy.

With no outs and with Talley on second, Sharpe turned his attention to the plate to face Ryan Hall. Talley broke for third, but had no chance - Sharpe spun around and whirled the ball to teammate Trace DeBerry, who tagged Talley for the first out of the inning.

Photos by Lester Murray

Hall would draw a walk, but then Sharpe struck out Dustin Fitzgerald for another out.

Beau Bayliss contributed to the Mavs' cause with a single that moved Fitzgerald to second, and brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Gobert. But Gobert hit a shot to second base to Nick Sullivan, a line drive that Sullivan snagged for the out. The Bulldogs and the Kilgore fans celebrated, as the Mavericks' season came to an end.

Sharpe threw all seven innings for Kilgore, 115 pitches. He struck out seven.

Kilgore picked up two runs early, in the bottom of the first inning. DeBerry, the team's only senior (who was honored before the game), drew a one-out walk, and then shortstop Steven McBryde reached on a fielder's choice when DeBerry was thrown out. Catcher Chris Dudley belted a two-out single, and Sharpe followed with a single of his own, scoring both McBryde and Dudley.

In the bottom of the fourth, KHS would add two more - Will Mixon reached on an error, Trevor Moon singled, and then Andrew Ector singled to load the bases.

DeBerry drew a bases-loaded walk, picking up the RBI and the third run of the game for KHS. And the fourth? It came during an at-bat by McBryde when Moon stole home to a cheering Kilgore crowd.

The Bulldogs won't play a warm-up game, Blackstone said, and will next be in action as the playoffs begin on Friday night at Sulphur Springs.

It will be the first time Kilgore has played a postseason game at Sulphur Springs since 2004, when the Bulldogs beat Highland Park in a one-game series. That year, Kilgore came within one win of a trip to the state tournament.