A lot of things changed for the Charles Henderson baseball program heading into 2016 under new head coach William Teal. The one the thing that hasn’t changed is winning.

The Trojans enter the final weekend of March with a 19-1 record, a number two ranking in Class 5A and an eye on another deep run in the playoffs.

“I am definitely excited,” Teal said. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we were going to be 19-1 I would have told you you were crazy. I expected us to be good, but 19-1 has surpassed my expectations.”

The Trojans’ lone loss came in February to G.W. Long. Since then the Trojans have won 14 straight and in the month of March the Trojans have averaged 11 runs per game.

“We run the bases extremely well,” Teal said. “I had a vision for this team; I knew we were going to be athletic and very fast. I knew we were going to have a decent lineup … They are exceeding my expectations with the base running.”

Teal set a goal of 50 stolen bases for the season. So far, the Trojans have stolen more than 40.

Although it’s a nice honor to be ranked, Teal believes it’s how they play in post-season play that is most important.

“I have never really been a ranking guy because it really doesn’t matter,” Teal said. “It looks good for the school … we are 19-1 right now we can’t really hold our hat on that. You can’t really think about that because if you get beat in the first round of the playoffs that 19-1 record doesn’t mean anything.

“I’m not taking anything away from the guys,” Teal said. “It’s an honor. It makes me feel good to know that my team is second in the state, but you have to continue the process of getting better every day.”

That philosophy is being taught every day.

“The guys are excited about the rankings but at the end of the day you want the hardware,” Teal said. “To get the hardware you have to be number one. That gives us something to push forward to and the guys see that. They know they want to be number one and they have to work. They will work and they will work hard.”

Teal said the team also has depth in leadership. “That’s how you have quality baseball teams,” Teal, said. “You have to have that leader that can lead by example. We have a few of those guys this year and they’re not necessarily seniors. We have a lot of guys that lead by example and other people catch on to that.”

With more than a dozen games remaining in the regular season, the Trojans know they have a lot of work ahead of them, but Teal is excited about his players being able to experience a season like this.

“They are having fun,” Teal said. “They are connected as a team and they have good chemistry. They play well together and that’s what you like to see more than wining as a coach. You like to see the guys having a good time playing and winning plays a big part in that.”