By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Dustin Vaught was ready to pack his bags and head to Alabama.

Vaught, a member of the Troup County 13-year-old all-star baseball team, thought the Junior Dixie Boys Baseball World Series started last week.

“I thought last weekend we were supposed to go up there,” Vaught said. “I was ready to go.”

If the players on the team are a tad anxious, it’s understandable.

It’s been more than two weeks since the team wrapped up the state championship to earn a spot in the World Series.

The wait will end today for Vaught and his teammates, with Troup taking on the Tennessee state champion in opening-round action in the 12-team tournament in Enterprise.

The double-elimination tournament goes through Thursday when a champion will be crowned.

“We’re feeling pretty good, but we don’t want to under-estimate anybody,” Pardue said.

Added shortstop Jaylen Colton: “I’m real excited. I think we can win the whole tournament.”

If Colton and his teammates play like they did in the state tournament, they’ll be tough to handle.

In three games, Troup outscored its opponents 32-7, and it beat Newton County 10-4 in the championship game.

The pitching was superb, with Dre Leonard, Matt Morton, Caleb Buchanan and Dustin Vaught taking turns on the pitcher’s mound.

Coach Andy Buchanan said any of those four pitchers could get the call for today’s first game.

At the plate, there were no weak spots.

In one tournament game, an 11-2 win over Newton County, 11 different players had hits.

“It’s not laying on one person’s shoulders,” said Buchanan, who coaches the team along with Matt Aldridge, Jeff Buchanan and David Buchanan. “We got hits across the lineup. The guys that were on the bench came in and played their roles.”

Troup started its state run with an 11-1 win over Whitfield County, with Morton delivering three hits and two RBIs.

In an 11-2 victory over Newton County, Buchanan sparked the offense with four hits, while Morton and Colton had three and two hits, respectively.

In the title game, Buchanan and Colton each had two hits.

“They hit the ball hard,” coach Buchanan said. “Balance is probably our biggest thing.”

Life will likely be more difficult in the World Series than it was in the four-team state tournament, though.

With the exception of the host team, all of the teams had to win a state tournament to reach this point.

“You can always be sure that Alabama is good, and Louisiana is going to be good. They’ll be there in the end just about every year,” Buchanan said. “Some of these teams have gone through a 12, 16-team tournament, so they’ve had to prove themselves.”

Whatever happens in the tournament, Buchanan wants to make sure it’s a special time for the players, who have worked so hard this summer.

“You never know. You might not get back here again,” he said. “You want them to have fun.”

Pardue echoed that sentiment, saying he wants the team “to have fun.”

But, he quickly added, “we still want to win.”