Wednesday’s 5-1 District 15-4A loss at Pittsburg left Paris head baseball coach Bill Sikes with both good and bad news.
“We hit the ball really well,” he said. For a team that has scored a grand total of 8 runs in 6 district games against schools not named Liberty-Eylau, the coach had reason to be optimistic. However, for a team now 3-5 and struggling to qualify for the playoffs there was the obvious downside: “Everything we hit went right at them (the Pitt defense) or they made some unbelievable plays.”
The Wildcats still hold playoff destiny in their own hands. They have two games remaining on the regular season schedule: Friday at Atlanta (6-3) and Saturday, 11 a.m., at Hub Hollis Field against third-ranked Pleasant Grove (7-1). Win a pair of wins Paris would advance to next week’s bi-district round.
Pittsburg, meanwhile, is 3-6 and closes out district play Friday night at North Lamar (6-3). A Pirate win could jeopardize the Cats’ playoff chances. If the teams finish tied for the district’s fourth playoff berth, a play-in game would be scheduled for Monday.
Wednesday’s game at Pitt started ominously when Wildcat starting pitcher Phillip Sikes (pictured above from a game earlier this season) couldn’t find the strike zone and walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the first. Coach Sikes quickly made a pitching change to junior Channing Parker, who gave up an RBI hit to the first batter he faced but settled the Pirate attack to give the Cats an opportunity for a comeback.
The Cats had numerous chances on offense, but could never get the clutch hits to fall.
The sophomore Sikes, who has been Paris’ most reliable pitcher this season, gets a chance for redemption Friday, but there’s an obstacle in his path. He has qualified for the Region 2-4A track meet and will be competing in long jump Friday afternoon. As soon as his competition ends, he is expected to make the drive to Atlanta to try to make the 6 p.m. start on the mound.