Trojan baseball looking for momentum

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April 1, 2010

By Corey Davis Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Thu Apr 01, 2010, 03:42 PM EDT

Jasper — JASPER-After a 3-1 start, Hamilton County baseball coach Ryan Mitchell had to be feeling pretty good about where his team was headed after the first month of the season.

However, since the calendar turned over to March, the Trojans have struggled winning just one of their last nine games.

"We started out well, but we have been struggling ever since. I have great fantastic kids, we just have to practice harder and get back on track," Mitchell said.

A loss Feb. 25 to host Suwannee seemed to send the Trojans in the wrong direction.

"We lost 7-1 to Suwannee, we played well we just let it get away from us. Ever since then, we have struggled to hit and we donít have much confidence in our defense, but it all starts at the top with hitting. We also have had some communication issues like dropping routine pop ups," Mitchell said.

Several losses have come down to the final innings with the difference being making one or several key mistakes by the Trjoans.

"It's like a snowball effect, one bad play sets us off. I think it's because a lack of confidence. We returned just two starters, so experience is a big issue, " Mitchell said.

In a 15-0 loss March 23 to visiting Suwannee, the Trojans surrendered runs in every inning, including nine in the final two innings.

Despite their struggles, Mitchell is confident his team will be ready come district tournament time, where the top two teams move on to the playoffs.

Hamilton County (4-9, 1-4) will host the District 4-2A tournament April 26-29, hosting Jefferson County, Tallahassee Maclay, Tallahassee North Florida Christian and Lafayette.

With three district games left at Maclay (April 8), at Jefferson County (April 9) and at Lafayette (April 13), the Trojans have a chance to move up to improve their seeding.

"I feel like we can compete with any of the district teams. If we can get hot at the right time, I like our chances to make a playoff run. We're capable of a run, we're not laying down as this team will fight hard," Mitchell said.