SULPHUR — The dream season for the Welsh Greyhounds baseball team came up one win short Wednesday as Mangham captured the Division IV Non-Select state championship.
Top-seeded Welsh entered the title game searching for the program’s first state championship, but third-seeded Mangham broke things open early with a seven-run third inning to seize control. The Dragons built an 8-0 advantage and never relinquished it on the way to an 11-7 victory.
Despite the early deficit, Welsh continued to battle and chipped away throughout the game. The Greyhounds trimmed the margin to four runs heading into the seventh inning, but the comeback fell short.
Welsh head coach Caleb Hayes praised his team’s resilience after the loss.
“Man, it’s really hard to win a championship,” Hayes said. “It doesn’t matter what division you’re in, it’s really hard to win a championship. It’s supposed to be hard. We lost six seniors from last year and only had two seniors on this year’s team. We’re still learning at the same time, even though we had a great season.”
Hayes also commended the Greyhounds for refusing to quit after falling behind early.
“I’m super proud of this team,” Hayes said. “We’re down 8-0, and I don’t know many teams that I’ve coached that would be able to battle back in an environment like this and make it a close game at the end. I’m just super proud of the fight.”
The loss ends a strong season for Welsh, which finished 26-9 and made a deep postseason run to the state finals for the second year in a row. With only two graduating seniors, the Greyhounds will now turn their attention toward another championship push in 2027.
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