By T. Scott Boatright
Heading into the second round of the Division V Nonselect School playoffs, 17th-seeded Simsboro knew it was playing the role of David against Goliath — top-seeded Pitkin.
Playing on the road made the odds even tougher, and despite a strong fight the Tigers fell 10-0 in six innings on Friday.
The Tigers never got going at the plate with Pitkin allowing only two hits.
“That team we just played is much better than we are at the moment,” said Tigers coach Scott Hiers.“But we’re headed in the right direction. We pushed it past five innings in a playoff game against the top-seed team. Without three or four untimely errors it would have been 3 or 4 to nothing.
“That little lefty they threw today, he was pretty tough. He was 86 or 87 (miles per hour on his pitches) from the left side, and that’s tough for a Class B high school. We played hard, We made some good plays., But we just did not hit that young man who was on the mound. He’s pretty dang good.”
It was the final game for Simsboro seniors Mark Holloway, Bryson Yarborough, Grant Carr and Cayden Cross.
“They were a little emotional and stuff, just because it’s over,” Hiers said. “But they’re looking on toward bigger and better things. It’s time to start another chapter in life. It’s both sad and exciting for them.
“But the younger guys seem ready to move on next year and work to get a little bit better.”
After advancing to the second round of the playoffs since 2015, Hiers feels his team is in for even bigger and better things next season.
“We don’t lose our top pitchers,” Hiers said. “We lose a couple of outfielders but we’ve got pretty much our whole team coming back and hopefully we can add some players to that.
“Overall it was a good year. We played a little tougher schedule and we got better. I’m good with that.”
