BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
LOACHAPOKA — Loachapoka High School’s bats went cold at the worst possible time in 14-1 and 17-0 road defeats at Highland Home High School in the first round of the 2A playoffs on April 22.
The Indians ended their season with a 4-6 overall record, and the Flying Squadron advanced to the second round sitting at 16-8.
Despite the difficult losses, LHS head coach Mike Glisson expressed pride in his players for competing at the highest level of 2A baseball against a HHHS squad featuring numerous players specializing in baseball.
It was the third-straight season the Indians made the AHSAA baseball playoffs under Glisson, who took over the program during the 2023/24 school year.
“Most of my players don’t really play a lot of baseball until they get to me,” Glisson said. “There are a lot of very small details in baseball that you only really pick up from playing. The more you play, the more you pick it up [and] the more it works for you.”
Even as many of LHS’s players split their time between basketball, baseball and track and field, Glisson said their progress on the diamond was noticeable throughout the season.
In particular, LHS giving Central Coosa County High School everything they wanted in a 9-8 loss on Feb. 24 after losing to the Cougars just five days earlier stood out as his favorite moment.
“We don’t want to necessarily make them have to make a choice and not be able to participate in what they want to participate in,” Glisson said. “With all of those things going on and still being able to make the playoffs year in and year out, that’s a pretty good tribute to our kids and my coaching staff.”
Game 1
The Flying Squadron effectively put the game out of reach early on, sending 15 batters to the plate in a 10-run first inning that saw Tanner Sexton, Ethan Bowen, Brody Phillips and Conner Sampley all deliver run-scoring hits in the frame.
Down 10-0 entering the top of the second, Kam White kept the Indians in the fight after stealing third base and quickly scoring on a passed ball that gave LHS their only run of the day.
After that, HHHS added four more runs in the bottom of the second as the Flying Squadron got numerous runners on base and took advantage of several Indians miscues. However, Zyquan Roberts showed no fear on the pitcher’s mound and held the Flying Squadron scoreless over the next two innings after entering the game in the second inning as a reliever.
Kamarion Norris and Peter Chenier both collected hits for LHS against Sexton, who struck out 12 LHS batters over five innings.
Game 2
Logan Frazier set the tone early for HHHS, collecting three hits that included an RBI single in the first and a run-scoring double in the second. Cooper Mount also drove in three runs as the Flying Squadron piled up 17 hits.
After a more competitive start to the second game that saw the Flying Squadron score four runs in the first inning and three runs in the second, HHHS blew the game open with a 10-run third inning. In that fateful frame, Sexton’s inside-the-park home run and RBI hits from Aiden Sampley, Phillips and Braylon Wallace provided most of the fireworks.
Conner Sampley struck out six over two scoreless innings on the mound for the Flying Squadron while allowing just one hit.
Chenier recorded that lone hit for LHS, while White battled on the mound as the Indians’ main pitcher.
