TAYLOR & COOPER | Troup’s Gillispie, Tatum’s Whiteus the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week!

Troup’s Taylor Gillispie (11) had four home runs and 16 total strikeouts in two games, both wins, against Gladewater last week. She and Tatum’s Cooper Whiteus (below) are the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week for March 10-15! (Photo courtesy of TROUP INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FACEBOOK)

Over the course of high school baseball and softball seasons, each team plays a lot of games – depending on how many tournaments a team participates in, then a playoff run, a team may play 30, maybe even 40 games in a year.

That can mean at-bats and innings in the hundreds.

Cooper Whiteus of Tatum High School baseball and Taylor Gillispie of Troup High softball took advantage of their at-bats over the past week, and in Gillispie’s case, her time on the pitcher’s mound, and as such, they’re the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week for March 10-15.

Tatum, of course, is bolstered by the high of winning the UIL Class 3A, Division I boys state basketball championship, which they did at The Alamodome a few weeks ago. Whiteus brings that enthusiasm to coach Dustin Russell’s already-strong Eagles’ baseball lineup.

Last week, the Eagles faced Arp twice in District 16-3A play: at home on Tuesday, then at Arp on Friday.

Whiteus on Tuesday, in an 11-1 Tatum win, had a double, a single and 3 RBI.

On Friday, in a 17-6 win, he went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, 2 RBI and scored four times.

Right now, the Eagles are 12-4, 4-0 in district play and have won five straight games. And Whiteus is ready to be a part of another potential title run.

Tatum High School shortstop Cooper Whiteus had two doubles, two singles, a triple, and 5 RBI in two games last week over Arp, both wins in District 16-3A. (Photo courtesy of TATUM HIGH SCHOOL EAGLE BASEBALL)

Over in Troup, Gillispie – who recently signed to continue her softball career and education at Trinity Valley Community College when she’s finished up high school – came into this season with ridiculous numbers on the mound a year ago: a 14-3 record, a 0.69 ERA, 199 strikeouts and just 36 walks over 91 1/3 innings.

This year, she’s off to a great start.

Last week in a pair of wins over Gladewater, Gillispie was nothing short of fantastic.

She had three hits – ALL of them home runs! – and 5 RBI in an 18-1 win on Tuesday. On the mound, over the four innings before the run-rule was declared, she allowed only one hit and two walks, and struck out eight.

On Friday, in a 13-1 win, she again pitched the entire game before the run-rule. She once again struck out eight, allowed one hit and one walk over the 4 1/3 innings.

At the plate, she had a home run and 3 RBI.

Gillispie and Whiteus add to a list of phenomenal performances in this 2024-25 school year that have resulted in winning our Whataburger / ETB awards. The others, in case anyone would like to revisit them:

And at ETBlitz.com, we’re proud to have Whataburger on board as our advertising partner for these awards.

Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and with over 700 stores in Texas – plenty in East Texas under the leadership of DKT Investments – you can have Whataburger whenever you’d like.

Check out their menu online at Whataburger | Order Online with Curbside and Delivery, and order ahead, or on the app on your phone, where you can also earn points toward free items.

Congratulations again to Troup’s Taylor Gillispie and Tatum’s Cooper Whiteus, the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week for March 10-15!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply