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<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON \u2014 It has been a memorable season for Jeremy Shope\u2019s Whitley County Colonels, and it is far from over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Colonels (35-4) await the beginning of the Clark\u2019s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament, which begins Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how they got to where they are today, was nothing but impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c We will always have the goal of winning the regional championship,\u201d Shope admitted. \u201cI\u2019d be lying if I thought we\u2019d be 35-4 right now. Baseball can be such a funny game. These boys have just found a way even when we didn\u2019t play very good.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whitley County entered the season as the No. 2 ranked team in the 13th Region. After the Colonels\u2019 7-5 win over defending 13th Region champion Corbin in the finals of the Kentucky 2A Section 7 title game, they moved into the No. 1 spot in the regional rankings on March 26, and have been there since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe really swung the bat well early in the season,\u201d Shope said. \u201cWe scored 10 plus runs four out of the first five games with one of those coming in a 7-0 deficit in the 2A Sectional tournament. I knew we had a good team when I saw the never-say-die type attitude. We ended up winning the 2A Sectional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe went to the 2A tournament and lost in the 2A State Championship in a heartbreaker,\u201d he added. \u201cWe then came back and swept Corbin while being short handed with our pitching staff. This group really gelled throughout the year. It\u2019s been a fun group to coach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rivalry between Whitley County, and Corbin lasted throughout the season due to the two teams playing five times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Colonels won the first three games while the Redhounds picked up a 7-1 win in the 50th District Tournament\u2019s championship game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whitley County didn\u2019t seem bothered, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Colonels had already put together win streaks of 11, nine, eight, and four game win streaks, so they knew how to win against some good the best teams in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They did it behind one of the best hitting, and pitching teams around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whitley County got revenge against Middlesboro in the first round of the 13th Region Baseball Tournament after being upset by the Yellow Jackets just the year before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came a 9-2 win over North Laurel before the Colonels\u2019 fourth win over Corbin in the regional finals \u2014 a 7-1 decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most assumed a trip to Lexington would be between Whitley County, and the Redhounds, but many didn\u2019t know who would be making the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If folks paid attention the entire season, they would have known the Colonels always plays their best when it matters most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n