Cats end hard-fought season with 2 losses
Whitehouse falls in slugfest, 12-11

Photo/Jim Jackson With the loss to Nacogdoches, the Wildcats finished a disappointing 3-11 in district play. Five of those losses were in one run games and three others were by two or three runs. With six starters returning, and with four of those starters being sophomores, Whitehouse will look to make a strong push for the playoffs in 2008.

The Whitehouse Wildcats would fall in a slugfest last Tuesday in Marshall by the final score of 12-11.

The Wildcats would score three in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to one, but would leave the tying and go ahead runs on to end the game.

Marshall would get to Wildcat starter, Heath Mayo, in the second for a 2-0 lead highlighted by a triple to right center.

The Wildcats would tie things up at 2-2 in the top of the second on a two-run homer by Brady Attaway which followed a walk to Evan Beaton.

After Marshall took the lead in the bottom of the second, the Wildcats would strike again in the top of the third to take a 5-3 lead.

Banks Brandon would lead off the inning with a single and then Heath Mayo would get on through a fielder's choice getting Brandon at second. Ryan Miner would then double setting up runners on second and third.

Seth Cashion would follow with a single to left to score Mayo followed by an RBI single from Beaton. Grant Brandon would then pick up a single to end the scoring for the inning.

After Marshall tied the game in the bottom of the third, the Wildcats would get the lead back in the top of the fourth as Miner would drive in Banks Brandon with a single.

Brandon started the inning on an infield hit and then stole second and third on a passed ball. Beaton would single and Attaway would single to drive in Miner to give the 'Cats a 7-5 lead.

The lead would not last long as Marshall would push across five runs in the bottom half of the inning to take an 11-7 lead.

The Wildcats would push a run across in the sixth on a single by Beaton and a double by Attaway to get the score to 12-8 headed into the seventh.

The seventh inning would start off good for the Wildcats as Tyler Spitzmiller reached on an error by the first baseman. Spitzmiller came into the game on the mound for Mayo late in the fourth inning and held the Mavericks at bay in the fifth and sixth. After Mayo singled, Miner picked up an RBI single and moved Mayo to second. Next up was Cashion who hit a shot deep to left that hit the wall. Mayo had gone back to tag up at second and could only get to third base, so the bases were loaded, and then Attaway kept his hot night with a two-run single up the middle.

The Wildcats would then leave the final two runners on base as they could not push the tying run across home plate.

"This was just another in a long list of frustrating losses for us this year," said Coach Danny Robey. "Our kids played hard and kept battling back, but we just could not get that tying or winning run across the plate."