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<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON \u2014 Two games down, two to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In what many believed was a far-fetched dream to begin the season could be a reality by Saturday night, if Jeremy Shope\u2019s Whitley County Colonels can continue their winning ways for two more games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s right, Whitley County is on track, and considered the favorites by many to bring home the baseball program\u2019s first-ever state championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To accomplish the feat, the Colonels (37-4) must get past upstart Henderson County (20-17) on Friday, and then defeat either Shelby County or Apollo Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of how our guys have gone into the tournament with a confidence that we belong and can win,\u201d Shope said. \u201cA lot of our guys have been in the Final Eight two years ago. That experience pays dividends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whitley County is no stranger to success this season either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Colonels\u2019 run to Friday\u2019s Final Four matchup has been a fun one to watch, especially if you bleed Red and Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shope\u2019s squad has already won the Kentucky 2A, Section 7 title before falling in the Kentucky 2A championship game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Add a 50th District runner-up, a 13th Region championship, and state tournament wins over LaRue County, and South Warren, and you can see why the blue-collared approach the Colonel players and coaches have made, has worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis team has been resilient all year,\u201d Shope said. \u201cWe\u2019ve only lost four games because we believe no matter what. We have won some games that we probably shouldn\u2019t have. We showed some guts about us coming from behind with no sign of panic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now, only two games away from winning the big prize, Shope isn\u2019t shying away from liking his team\u2019s chances of winning the state championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI absolutely believed going into this tournament that we could compete and win,\u201d he said. \u201cThese guys had this goal in mind from day one. We\u2019ve played some really good teams to prepare us for this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n