In the two games the Troy Dixie Minors won in their District Tournament in Slocomb, they outscored their opponents 44-3. Those two wins came against teams not from Enterprise.

After Troy fell to Enterprise-American in the opening round game last Monday night, Troy met up with the Enterprise Nationals on Saturday and were defeated 6-3, knocking them out of the tournament.

The Dixie Minors were able to jump out to an early 2-1 lead over Enterprise heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.

“We were able to manufacture some runs, and I was feeling pretty good,” Dixie Minor head coach Al Renfroe said. “We played really well against a really good team.”

Jackson Cleveland started the game for Troy and held Enterprise to just one run over his three innings of work Saturday.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Enterprise’s offense was able to put together some good at bats en route to a five-run inning.

“They hit the ball, we kept the ball in front of us and we made the plays we were supposed to make,” Renfroe said. “They were able to hit the ball to where we weren’t playing.”

The Minors had a chance to come back and tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. They had the bases loaded with only one out. In the end they couldn’t get the big hit they needed and finished the game scoring only one run in the sixth.

“We had the bases loaded with only one out,” Renfroe said. “I really thought we were going to be able to come back, score some runs and at least tie the game up. We hit the ball hard, but they were able to make some really good plays in the field.”

In the two losses, the Dixie Minors played very competitively and lost by a combined six runs to both Enterprise-American, and the Enterprise-Nationals.

“I really felt like we were in every game we played, especially the two games we lost,” Renfroe said. “We were in both of those games and we were competitive. I was very proud of the kids. They battled from the first pitch to the last pitch.

Even though the Dixie Minors had their backs against the wall after a first round loss, the players always felt like they were going to win and advance.

“There was never any quit, or any doubt in their minds that they had a chance to come back and win,” Renfroe said. “I was really proud with the effort that they gave. They had great attitudes and sportsmanship. They encouraged each other and handled the losses very well.”

Unlike many of this season’s tournament teams, the Dixie Minors had a roster built up of players that for the most part had not played much baseball outside the recreation league regular season.

“A lot of the age groups of Troy had played travel ball and have played with each other throughout the year,” Renfroe said. “It was really impressive how they played with each other. They really came together well.”

The important thing for Renfroe and the coaching staff was that the players got the most out of the tournament that they could.

“The kids really formed a bond,” coach Renfroe said. “All the kids really got along. We never had any attitude problems or complaining. I think that started with the parents. We had a group of parents that worked really hard. It was a real positive experience for everybody.”