By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Go home, jump in the pool, and forget about baseball for a few days.

That was Perry Prather’s message to his players after Troup American’s 9-10-year-old all-star team finished off a marathon week of baseball.

The team played five games in five days, and endured a couple of lengthy rain delays.

One game didn’t end until after midnight, and the team had to come back the next day to play again.

In the end, the work was all worth it since the team went 5-0 and captured the Dixie Youth Baseball district championship.

When it was done, Prather told his players to scatter and to reconvene next week

“They deserve (a break),” said Prather, whose team wrapped up the district title with a win over Thomaston on Wednesday. “They’ve been a good group. It’s time for a little rest.

“We’ll let them get out and swim, enjoy the summer a little bit.”

There’ll be more baseball to come, though.

Troup will play in the state tournament in Gwinnett County beginning July 16.

Prather will go to a meeting next weekend where he’ll find out when his team will be playing, and who the opponent will be.

If the team plays like it did at district, it will be a tough out at state.

It won four of the games in blowout fashion, and it beat Troup National 3-2 in a seven-inning game on Tuesday that was halted for more than two hours because of rain.

“I was real proud of them,” Prather said.