From staff reports

SENECA, S.C. - The Troup County 13-14 all-stars’ weekend was dampered by a heartbreaker Sunday evening.

Troup, playing in the Dixie Boys Baseball World Series as the Georgia state champion, lost 5-4 to Texas, putting it in a must-win situation for the rest of the tournament.

Troup will play South Carolina today at 10 a.m., with the winner of that game playing again at 5 p.m.

“It was a back-and-forth game,” said Troup head coach John Alise. “It could have been anybody’s game. We just couldn’t move runners over when we needed it.”

The loss came a day after a blowout, 8-0 victory over North Carolina.

In the loss to Texas, Chase Smith pitched a solid five innings before Josh Alise closed out the game.

Texas went ahead 1-0 in the first inning, but Troup tied it in the second and went ahead in the third.

Trailing 4-3 after five innings, Texas scored two runs to take the lead, and Troup couldn’t recover.

Hunter Heath went 3-for-3 in the game with two RBIs, with John Sweat and Zak Murphy also notching RBIs.

Brandon Butts, Kane Keith and Dalton Hadley also had hits.

The last time Troup County faced a must-win situation came in the state tournament when it beat Columbia County 12-8 to capture the title.

“We’ve been in this position before and we’ve responded,” Alise said. “We’re counting on their maturity, and I expect them to rebound. It’ll be a high-intensity game today.”

In Saturday’s win over North Carolina, Keith started and pitched five innings for Troup and struck out eight batters.

Cord Carson came in for scoreless relief duty.

While Troup started out slow offensively, the game was capped with a scoring onslaught, highlighted by a two-run homer from Dalton Hadley.

Butts and Josh Alise each notched two RBIs, with Hunter Heath and Murphy scoring one a piece.

Every game from now on will be an elimination game for Troup, but Alise still likes the makeup of his team.

“You can see that look in their eyes,” Alise said of his team after Saturday’s win. “It makes you feel good.”