Troy Coach Pitch team wins District Tournament
Published 3:00 am Thursday, June 25, 2015
After a first round bye, the Troy Coach Pitch All-Start team won all four games of their District 9 Tournament in Enterprise and were named the District 9 champions after defeating Enterprise 16-7.
Troy started the game a little slow, but rebounded to walk away with the championship trophy.
“The kids played really well,” said Troy head coach Chris Campbell. “We came out and hit the ball. Our defense started a little slow, but we settled down and played good defense. Overall, we hit the ball really well tonight. Everyone came out and hit the ball really hard.”
Enterprise came out and stung the ball early Wednesday and scored the games first three runs, giving them the early lead.
Troy turned the tables quickly. In their first at bat of the game, the team quickly took the lead.
It was a balanced attack all evening long for Campbell and the All-Stars. Luke Barron and Blake Lowery stood out Wednesday for their effort on defense by making some great plays, Campbell said. Campbell said Lowery was also able to end the game on a tag out at home plate sending the team into a frenzy.
Campbell said championship put an exclamation point on what was a fun and exciting tournament for Troy.
During the tournament Troy was able to wrack up victories against Zion Chapel, Enterprise and Slocomb, but the wins didn’t come without har work.
Troy spent nearly four weeks practicing in the hot afternoon sun preparing diligently for what they hoped would be a long run in tournament play.
“I saw a lot of hungry kids, that from the word go, never complained about practice,” Campbell said. “They never once complained about the heat.”
The seven runs surrendered by Troy were the most runs they have allowed during the tournament and the most for the team as a whole.
“The most runs we allowed before tonight was just three runs,” Campbell said. “That’s how focused we were. They were locked in to making plays.”
Campbell said a key factor going into the tournament was how Troy was going to be able to adapt to so many of its players practicing and playing new positions.
“The outfield mainly was where our guys were playing new positions,’” Campbell said. “They adapted so well. They kept the ball in front of them, and to back each other up. If there was ever a ball that got behind someone there was someone right there to back it up.”
Troy will now have the next couple of weeks to prepare for the State Tournament. Campbell said the team would more than likely adhere to the saying “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it”
“Our practices are going to look exactly the same,” Campbell said. “We are going to stick with what’s working. We are going to keep on hitting.”
The State Tournament for Troy will begin on July 10 in Prattville.