KEEPING THE QUEST ALIVE: Andy squares off with Trinity on road to state
Published 12:05 am Thursday, April 26, 2018
- Andalusia and Trinity square off Friday in Montgomery for the second round of the AHSAA Class 4A state playoffs. Josh Dutton/Star-News
The Andalusia Bulldogs (22-4) will travel to Montgomery on Friday to take on the Trinity Wildcats (21-9) for the second round of the AHSAA Class 4A state playoffs.
“We are happy to be here,” Bulldog head coach Tyler Dent said. “There are a lot of teams around the state that don’t have the opportunity to play in the second round and we are fortunate enough to be one of the teams that is still playing. With that said, we aren’t satisfied with just making it to this point. We want to keep on playing.”
Andalusia advanced to the second round of the playoffs after dismantling the Monroe County Tigers in the opening round.
The Bulldogs out scored the Tigers 45-0 in the opening round and the Andalusia pitchers didn’t allow a single hit in two games.
Monroe County’s lone base runner of the day came off of an error when the Bulldogs were up 27-0 in game two.
Trinity secured a spot in the second round after upsetting the top-ranked UMS-Wright Bulldogs in the opening round.
Trinity fell 9-5 in the first game against UMS-Wright, but battled back for a 7-6 victory in game two and wrapped up the series with a 3-0 win.
“Trinity is a tremendous program,” Dent said. “There aren’t many teams with the type of history as Trinity’s baseball program. They are extremely well coached. We are going to have our work cut out for us.”
This will be the second meeting between the Bulldogs and the Wildcats this season.
Andalusia and Trinity faced off to open the season, with the Bulldogs coming away with a 3-2 victory.
Andalusia and Trinity will play Friday in Montgomery.
“We honestly haven’t even talked about that game,” Dent said. “We have changed a lot as a team and we will a completely different lineup than we did in early February. Their lineup is going to be pretty much the same as it was, but I’m sure they have improved just like we have improved.”
Dent said the Bulldogs are treating this series just like any other series this season.
“We aren’t going to over think things,” Dent said. “It’s just another weekend at the baseball field. We have had some pretty good success this season and there is no reason to approach this series any differently.”
Dent encouraged fans to come to Montgomery to watch the Bulldogs.
“Come out and support these kids and all the things they have accomplished,” Dent said. “We are looking forward to what should be a great day of baseball.”
The first game is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the second game is set for 3 p.m.
If necessary, game three will be played Saturday at 1 p.m.