Wave fall short in South State title series

Published 12:46 am Saturday, May 15, 2010

VICKSBURG — It wasn’t the way Dylan White wanted things to end.

In a 6-2 loss to rival St. Aloysius for the second day in a row, Cathedral’s senior starter saw his hopes of a state title end in game two of the South State championship Friday.

Despite the sweep, however, White expressed gratitude that he was even able to play after coming back from a head injury that kept him out of the first two rounds of the postseason.

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“It shows there is a God,” Dylan White said.

“I want to thank everyone who prayed for me and my teammates for giving me a chance to play. I’m disappointed in the way it ended, but this season has been the most fun I’ve ever had playing a sport, and I want to thank my teammates for that.”

Dylan White went out on a high note in his final at-bat, lacing a single past the Vicksburg first baseman on the first pitch in the top of the seventh. Teammate Hunter Foster followed him up with another single, but Aaron White grounded into a double play and Daniel Huffines grounded out to end the game.

“I was just trying to do my job and get on base so the guys behind me could drive me in. It was good to go out getting a hit in my final at-bat I guess,” Dylan White said.

Cathedral scored one run in the top of the first on an RBI double by Tyler Ballard, and another in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Collin Hammons. Although Cathedral out hit St. Al 8-7, the Flashes got their hits in a timelier manner.

“They hit with runners in scoring position a lot better than we did,” Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said.

“They did a good job driving the ball into the gaps. Even though we got eight hits, we couldn’t get them at the right time.”

Despite the loss, Beesley said he felt the team stepped up to the challenge a lot better in game two than in game one.

“We battled tonight, and played with a lot more enthusiasm (than Thursday). I was glad to see our seniors battle there at the end, but it just didn’t go our way,” Beesley said.

St. Al scored one run in the bottom of the first and added two more in the top of the third. The Flashes put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Blake Haygood that scored two runs. A wild pitch by Dylan White also added another run for St. Al.

Dylan White pitched six innings for the Green Wave, giving up six runs on seven hits.

“It’s going to mean a lot to these kids and to Dylan later on down the road that, in his last game, he was able to walk off the field under his own power,” Beesley said.

“He did a great job for us tonight. He’s a battler and competitor, and he kept us in the game, just like Tyler (Morrison) did last night. That’s all we can ask.”

Cathedral finished the season with a 19-7 record.