Coming into Tuesday’s semifinal game in the Dixie Junior Boys Baseball World Series, Troup head coach Huey Hood was confident his team could dispatch Mississippi and advance to the championship game.
The team was hot, having won three games in a row, and the pitching was lined up just right.
It wasn’t meant to be, though.
Mississippi scored nine runs in the first three innings, and that was all it needed to take a 9-4 victory and secure a spot in the title game against South Carolina.
“My hat’s off to them,” Hood said of Mississippi. “They out-pitched us and out-hit us. They were good.”
Still, it was a terrific week, and an unforgettable summer, for Troup.
Troup won the state championship to advance to the World Series, and after losing to Virginia on Saturday, the team fought back to win three straight games to reach the semifinals.
On Monday, Troup scored 29 runs to win two games and make it to the final four.
Hood said the players were already talking about next year, when they’ll be in the 13-14-year-old age group in Dixie Boys Baseball.
A year ago, many of the same players were on the 11-12-year-old team that won a state title and went 1-2 in the World Series.
“We’re getting better every step we take,” Hood said. “We’ve won two state championships, and this year, we got better. We made it to the final. We were in the running for a World Series title.”
Beyond the baseball aspect of it, Hood said he treasured the time he was able to spend around the players, as well as the families who he said were enormously supportive throughout the whole process.
“It’s a great group. I’m a lucky individual,” Hood said. “I love these boys, and they love me, I know it.”
After the game, and after the team gave one final cheer, Hood said the parents were “crying around our huddle.”
Hood also said the team’s host family helped make the week a special one.
“The host family, and the city of Dothan, well, they treated us like state champions,” Hood said. “They really doted on us. The host family, they hugged our necks after every game.”
As for Tuesday’s game, it started out poorly for Troup.
Mississippi plated four runs in the first inning, and it scored three more in the second and two more in the third to build a 9-2 lead.
Troup scored singled runs in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings, but it was unable to put together the big inning it needed to get back into the game.
“They punched us right in the mouth,” Hood said. “But we battled to the end.”
Troup pitchers Austin Garrett and Perry Keith helped hold Mississippi scoreless over the final four innings, but Mississippi pitchers Tristan Labove and Bryce Fagan made the early lead stand up.
Troup finished with eight hits, with catcher Colby Freeman and Austin Garrett each delivering two hits.
Logan Hood had a hit and two RBIs, and Jonathan Foster had a hit and an RBI.
Chase Freeman added a double, and Cody Mimbs also had a hit.
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