Trojans prepare for round two

Published 6:37 pm Wednesday, April 24, 2019

It took just two games for the Charles Henderson Trojans to knock off Valley in the opening round of the playoffs last Friday night. Now they turn their attention to round two and Bibb County.

The doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m. this evening with game two following shortly after. If a game three is necessary it will be played on Saturday.

In round one, the Trojans knocked of Valley 9-7. They clinched the series with a 12-8 win in game two.

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The Trojans held a 9-2 lead in game one and 5-0 lead in game two, but had to hold on late to secure both wins.

“I thought we swung really well last week and got some big hits when we needed it,” said Trojan head coach Matt Whitton. “The (first) game was 9-2 and we thought the game was completely in hand. We had a little bump in the road, but it was nice to see them not to panic when it went from 9-2 to 9-7 really quick.”

The Trojans focus on getting off to hot starts in every game, but it’s magnified in the postseason. After accomplishing that goal, the Trojans found out that a game can change very quickly over the course of seven innings.

“We talked about it,” Whitton said. “Nothing is safe in playoff baseball. Crazy things happen this time of year.  When you have a chance to put somebody away, you have to put them away. You’re not going to play any bad teams now and everybody is fighting to keep their season alive. When we have a chance to put somebody away we really have to put pressure on them and put them away.”

The Trojans’ next test will come from Bibb County. The Choctaws are fresh off a three-game series win over Marbury in round one. They finished the regular season as the Area 5 winner.

“Bibb County is a tough place to play,” Whitton said. “It’s loud, it’s rowdy and it’s going to be packed. It’s a quality ball club and we have talked to the guys about that. I tell them every day let’s be who we are. As long as we go in there and compete and give our best effort, that’s all we can ask our guys to do.”

It will be the first time for many of the players to travel to play in a big-time playoff series. Whitton plans on leaving early Friday morning to give his guys plenty of time to get ready.

“We are trying to stay focused all day long,” Whitton said. “We are going to leave at 8:00 in the morning and stop in Montgomery and hit some batting practice. Then we’ll head towards Tuscaloosa, check in a hotel and get ready to play. It’s my job to make sure our guys are locked in and ready to go at 5:00 on Friday night.”X