By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
After a 19-6 record during the regular season, the Whitewater High School baseball team earned a No. 2 seed in its Division 2 Sectional. On June 1, the Whippets hosted No. 6-seeded East Troy in the second round of the playoffs due to a first round bye.
East Troy advanced by defeating No. 3-seeded Racine Lutheran/Prairie School, 11-1, in what seeding-wise was an upset. Some teams prefer not having time off in between games, or going from the regular season to the postseason, but the Whippets made the most of its first round bye.
In the bottom of the first inning, Whitewater got a 2-0 lead and would never trail in the game, going on to win, 8-2. The Whippets added two runs in the third inning after East Troy tied the game, 2-2, and then scored four more in the bottom of the sixth inning to seal the victory.
Bryce Parrish led all hitters by going 3-for-4 at the plate and scoring a couple runs while knocking two in as well. Four different Whippets recorded at least one RBI in the game and three of them (Parrish, Jake Riemer and Julian Sonn) drove in two apiece.
The Whippets overcame the four errors it committed by out-hitting East Troy as a team, 10-6. On the mound, Jason Curtis earned the victory and did the bulk of the work, going 6.1 innings. Jacob Lee rounded out the final 0.2 innings by allowing one hit and no runs.
Curtis finished with seven strikeouts compared to three walks, and while he allowed two runs, none of them were earned. Next up for the Whippets this postseason is No. 5-seeded Delavan-Darien, who again, pulled an upset seeding-wise in the second round by defeating No. 1-seeded Martin Luther, 3-2.
The regional final is set to start at 5 p.m. on June 2 at Whitewater High School. If the Whippets advance, its sectional game will take place at 1 p.m. on June 2 between the winner of Beloit Turner-Evansville.
Coming into the regional final, Delavan-Darien owns a 10-14 record. The Comets have pulled off two upsets so far in the playoffs and will look for its third in a row against Whitewater.
In the Comets’ final game of the regular season (the Whippets’ second-to-last game) on May 24, Whitewater defeated Delavan-Darien, at Delavan-Darien, 17-6.
