After a month of practice the Troy Dixie-Minor Nationals team finally got to hit the field in tournament play in the own backyard at the Sportsplex.

Unfortunately, after just two games, the team’s dreams of playing on in the summer came to an end, thanks to loses against the Enterprise National and American teams.

After a tough loss on Saturday night to the Enterprise American team, Troy fell again to the other Enterprise team by the score of 11-5 on Monday night.

“I am proud of these kids,” Troy head coach Derek Wilkes said after the loss.

“They played as hard as they could the whole way through and never gave up. They enjoyed playing the game and each one came along way – they all have a lot to be proud of.”

Like Troy did against the American team, it scored early, taking a 1-0 led in the first when Juhmir Lampley, who reached base on an error, scored on a wild pitch.

However, also like Saturday night’s game, the Troy offensive struggled after the first inning.

Troy was held off the board for two innings, as Enterprise was able to do the exact opposite, scoring eight runs from innings two through four.

Troy would not go down quietly though.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Troy’s bats began to make contact with the ball as Lampley, Graham Wilkes and Daniel Phillips loaded the bases with singles.

Cade Calhoun came to the plate and took care of business with a two-RBI single, scoring Lampley and Wilkes.

Troy wouldn’t send anymore players to the plate until the next inning, when Will Sessions quickly found himself on third base thanks to a walk, a steal and a passed ball.

A batter later, Ridge Knotts would bring him home with a grounder to the second baseman.

Noah Phillips would continue the charge for Troy, reaching base and eventually scoring on an Enterprise error, to cut the lead to 8-5.

That would be the closest Troy would get to the lead.

Enterprise would score three in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 11-5 lead, and would eventually win by the same score.

“It’s a shame that these kids only got to play two games, but they played them hard,” Wilkes said after the game.

“It’s a blessing to be able to work with kids at this age. This was a great group of kids to work with and I am very thankful for this opportunity.”

Lampley led the way for Troy, finished 2-3 on the night adding and RBI and scoring two runs.

Calhoun finished 1-3 with two-RBIs and a stolen base, while both Noah Phillips and Graham Wilkes finished 1-3, scoring a run in the process.