The Troy Dixie Boys kicked off the 2016 District tournament with a 12-2 win over Geneva on Monday vaulting them into the winners bracket.

“It’s always good to get the first win of a tournament,” said Troy head coach Kevin Bryan. “We struggled during the first couple of innings swinging the bats for some reason. After that they started to heat up a little bit and squared some pitches up. They ended up having a pretty productive night at the plate.”

Troy was able to load the bases early in the ball game but struggled to get the big hit when they needed it.

“Early on we were loading the bases with no outs and only scored one run,” Bryan said. “We couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position, but it worked itself out as the game progressed.”

Logan Johnson got the start for Troy and lasted one inning. Caden Bryan pitched the game’s final six innings.

“He was big,” Bryan said. “He came and threw strikes and gave us a chance. He threw a lot of strikes and gave his defense a chance to make a play.”

Troy finished with a total of 16 hits, including home runs by Johnson, Payne Griffin and Bryan Galloway. Griffin, Johnson, Ty Singleton and Galloway each had two hits.

Troy will play again at 8 p.m. today, facing the winner of Enterprise and Ozark.

“From the first pitch to the last pitch we need to come out and play with intensity and hit the ball early,” Bryan said. “We have to hit the baseball to stay with Enterprise or Ozark.”