Relief could be seen in the eyes of Troy O-Zone head coach Chris Huner following the opening ceremonies for the Dixie O-Zone State Tournament.

No more practice, scrimmage games or fireworks shows. It is now time to just simply play baseball.

“We are ready to get everything started,” Huner said. “I have told the boys that 5 o’clock Saturday can’t get here soon enough. We are hitting the ball well, and all ready to play.”

Troy advances to the state tournament by being the host team, and did not take park in the district tournament held earlier this month.

Instead, Troy has had over seven weeks of practice and scrimmages to prepare for the tournament. Players also get a chance to play in front of their hometown friends and family.

“Sometimes you wonder about kids putting pressure on themselves when playing in front of their family and friends,” Huner said. “But this group is different. I don’t think we will have that problem. They are loose and having fun. This is just a game, and they will have fun playing it.”

Huner said that he will not loose any sleep worrying about last-minute issues, because he has tremendous confidence in his team.

“I know we have put in the work and effort to play sound baseball over the next few days,” Huner said. “We are looking for some really good things to come out of this tournament, and maybe if things go our way and we play as good as we are capable, we may can win the whole thing.”

The tournament begins on Saturday at 1 p.m at the Troy Sportsplex, and Troy takes on Oxford at 5 p.m.

The winner of the tournament will represent Alabama at the Dixie O-Zone World Series in Laurel, Miss. in August.