By Austin Bishop
The Star Herald
PASCAGOULA —
The Kosciusko 8-year-old All-Stars fell just nine outs short of winning back-to-back state championships.
The core of this year's 8-year-old all-star team, won the 7-year-old state coach-pitch title last season.
Kosy fought out of the losers bracket to earn a spot in the title game last Tuesday, and held a 4-2 lead after three innings of play, only to have Laurel score twice in the fourth and three times in the fifth to take the 7-4 win.
Cole Phillips had two singles and a double for Kosy in the title game, while Heath McBride belted three singles, Jackson Gilmore had a single and double and River Burrell and Joseph Deason had two singles each.
Kosciusko opened the tournament on Saturday, July 17 with a convincing 15-3 win over McComb that saw El'Darius Roby and Rusty Atkinson pop four hits each and River Burrell record a pair.
Kosy then dropped an 11-3 decision to Laurel to fall into the losers' bracket. Burrell had two singles in the game for Kosy, while Atkinson had a double and Phillips and Deason had a single each.
The third game of the tourney saw Kosciusko score five runs each in the first and third innings to take a 14-3 win over Lawrence County.
Ben Brunt unloaded a homer and single for the winners, while Hayden Beall had two doubles and a single and Gilmore had two singles and a double. Micha Parker and Atkinson added a single and double each for Kosy.
Kosciusko earned its way into the championship game with a 9-2 win over McComb in Tuesday's first contest. Atkinson and Parker had a single and double each, while Burrell had two singles.
