Postseason starts tonight at Sulphur Springs
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL/ UIL CLASS 4A BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

Photo by Lester Murray HERE'S WHAT THE OPPOSITION WILL SEE TONIGHT - Kilgore High School pitcher Danny Sharpe (left) will be on the mound tonight for the Bulldogs, as they face Sulphur Springs (at Sulphur Springs) at 7 p.m. in the Class 4A bi-district playoff round. The winner moves on to the area round to face Mesquite Poteet.

Since the 2003 season, the Kilgore High School baseball team has probably played in more playoff games than anyone in their current district lineup.

That streak will continue tonight when the Diamond Dogs head to Sulphur Springs for a one-game bi-district-round matchup against SSHS. The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 7 p.m. It's Kilgore's sixth straight year in the playoffs, and in all but one of those seasons, the Bulldogs made it out of the first round.

Kilgore is 15-11 overall this season, having won four of its last five games coming into the meeting with Sulphur, including two in a row. The Bulldogs haven't lost since falling at home to Hallsville on April 18.

Sulphur plays in District 11-4A. The Panthers finished the season 14-9.

The winner of tonight's KHS-SS game will get Mesquite Poteet in the area round, to be played sometime next week (to be negotiated). Poteet had a first-round bye.

When the Bulldogs hit the field in the bottom half of the first inning, it'll likely be ace Danny Sharpe, a junior, on the mound. Sharpe was a marathon man against both Henderson and Marshall, starting both games and just about finishing them: he was relieved by Trace DeBerry, the team's only senior, after 6 2/3 innings against Henderson, and pitched the entire seven innings in a nailbiting win over Marshall to help KHS get into the playoffs.

Kilgore head coach Jeff Blackstone said he doesn't know a lot about the Panthers, although he does expect to see their ace.

"It should be a great matchup between (the Sulphur Springs ace) and Danny (Sharpe) if Danny has a good night," the coach said. "They do hit the ball well at times but can be streaky."

Playing in Sulphur Springs is something KHS doesn't do often. The Bulldogs do have a playoff win to their credit there - in 2004, they defeated Highland Park in a one-game playoff, getting some late heroics (a home run by Clint Toon) to do so.

By the way, the Sulphur Springs baseball field is not at the high school. According to directions posted on the Kilgore Independent School District's web site, to get to the field from Kilgore, take I- 20 West to Highway 69 North.

Stay on 69 North to Emory, and then take Highway 19 North to Sulphur Springs. Arriving there, stay on 19 to Houston Street and take a right. The field will be on Houston Street on the right.