The old baseball adage says “the hardest out to get is always the last one.”

After Wednesday night, Troy Pitching Machine head coach Ty Martin believes it.

Troy scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to grab an 8-4 lead, but watched Enterprise scratch three runs across in the bottom of the frame to bring the score to 8-7.

With runners on second and third and two outs, Troy finally caught a break.

The Enterprise batter popped up in foul territory and catcher Connor Jones made the grab for the final out, ending the late rally.

Martin said no one in the complex thought the final out of the game would be recorded on a pop up to the catcher, but his players were ready.

“We have been working with the catchers to pop tall, toss the mask and find the ball as quick as they can,” said Martin. “It is asking a lot for these young guys to wear all the gear and be able to make the play, but Connor did exactly what we taught him to do.”

As Enterprise was mounting the late rally, Martin said he never thought about not winning the game.

The motto of the Troy team all tournament was to “just make outs.”

“We kept telling them to just make outs and keep making outs,” Martin said. “They kept doing that in the inning, even after Enterprise scored three runs. They are just an awesome group of kids and baseball players.”

As district champions, Troy advances to the state tournament in Eufaula July 4-10.

The tournament will get underway July 4th with opening ceremonies and fireworks, before the first pitch is thrown on Saturday July 5.

Martin is happy for his team to be able to represent Troy at the state level.

“There is a reason our uniforms are navy and gold and why we wear Troy across our chest,” Martin said. “All the hard work has paid off and we are excited to represent Troy in Eufaula. We want to take little bit of Troy to the tournament with us.”