By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
In seasons past, Parkers Chapel coach Mark Looney had the luxury of having players who could change the game with one swing of the bat.
And while senior Carson Worthey has hit eight home runs, the team has a total of 10 for the entire season.
But while the Trojans may not have much in the way of power, they have tons of speed, and they have put it to good use.
Heading into Saturday's showdown against Spring Hill in the 2A state finals in Fayetteville, the Trojans have stolen a whopping 211 bases, shattering their previous record of 177 set back in 2011, which was coincidently the last year Parkers Chapel won the state championship.
In their wins over McCrory and Palestine-Wheatley at the state tournament last weekend, the Trojans stole 17 bases.
"Going into the season, I knew I had six or seven guys that could run," Looney said.
"Not only can they run, but they can read a pitcher. There is a difference. You can have a guy that's got all of the speed in the world, but if he can't get a jump and a good read off the pitcher, he's not going to steal that base.
"I told this team from the beginning that we were going to steal a lot of bases. Now I never dreamed it would be over 200 at this point, but that's one of the things I wanted to do.
"You coach to what your team's personnel is. If you've got some guys that can really swing it, you can wait on the hits and not be aggressive.
"With this team, I knew we were blessed with a lot of speed. I knew we had some guys that could bunt when I asked them to, and I've got three or four guys that can swing it, too. Everybody knows what their role is on this team. When they do their roles, that's how we manufacture runs. We just hope that continues one more time."
The Trojans have also done an outstanding job of staying away from strikeouts and forcing opposing defenses to make plays.
In their last 15 games, the Trojans as a team have struck out five or more times in a game only on four occasions.
Even on days where the Trojans haven't had many hits, their ability to manufacture runs has been a big reason why they are one win away from a state championship.
"When you have an off day swinging it, if you still manage to walk, get hit or just find a way to get on base, you look up, and the guy is standing on third," Looney said. "Instead of having to get a base hit to score a run, contact, fly ball or a ground ball to the right side nets an RBI.
"It just takes a lot of pressure off the guys when you can end up in scoring position and you don't have to wait on a hit to move them there and another hit to get him in.
"We've been thrown out a few times, but we have swiped a lot more than we've been thrown out. It's just been part of our offense this year. I knew it was going to be, and it's paid a lot of dividends for us."
But what makes the Trojans tough for opposing defenses is there is no runner that can be ignored.
Seven players have stolen 10 or more bases with five having more than 20 steals.
It's not often a team's cleanup hitter leads the team in steals, but freshman Trace Shoup has done just that, tallying 40 stolen bases.
Worthey is next with 29 and sophomore catcher Jordan Arrington has 28.
Although it may be unusual for a catcher to have that many steals, Arrington isn't your classic catcher.
"Jordan is one of the better athletes that we have on the baseball team," Looney said.
"He's not your normal, thick, slow, slugging catcher. He's very athletic and moves quite well. He's done such a tremendous job being his first year behind the plate as a 10th-grader.
"Everybody with maybe the exception of one or two guys have the green light to go. To win this thing, we're going to have to have some hits. At the end of the day, you can steal all of the bases you want, and you can bunt all you want, but you still have to have some hits scattered in to try and finish the game off."
When the Trojans and Bears meet on Saturday, it will be the fourth time the schools have collided this year.
Spring Hill ace Kaleb Blair started the two games in the regular season, games that the Trojans and Bears split with each winning at home in a pair of two-run games, but with Cameron Middleton behind the plate, Parkers Chapel found their running game grounded with just one stolen base in each game.
"Spring Hill has a good catcher in the Cameron (Middleton) kid," Looney said. "Blair is pretty quick to the plate, and if you look at our three games, we haven't stolen a lot of bases against him. We're really going to have to get a good jump off of Blair and hope Cameron throws a little wild to second."
For Spring Hill coach Cameron Brown, keeping the Trojans guessing is a huge factor in limiting their opportunities.
"The biggest thing is mixing up the holds for the pitcher, and making sure they're not timing the pitcher," Brown said.
"You try to give the runner the least amount of time to steal the base. You always try to figure which count is best for them to steal, and to understand that he needs to be on point and ready to go. Our middle infielders are always communicating and understanding who has got the bag. We just do a good job of controlling the situation and not let them get free bases."
When asked if this team compares to any of his other clubs, Looney said there is none.
"There's no comparison whatsoever," Looney said. "Even some of the people that follow us that don't live around here, that was their observation, too. We're a young team. We're somewhat small in stature.
"We don't necessarily pass the eye test. We just play good baseball. Some of the teams I've had in the past, they passed the eye test. They looked like an older, veteran team. Back in 2014, those kids were huge. I was pretty much the smallest guy on the team. But this team, I've got a lot of little kids, but we're just out there playing ball and having fun."
No matter the outcome on Saturday, these Trojans have certainly left a unique imprint in the history of Parkers Chapel baseball.
"I'm proud of them," Looney said. "Regardless of what happens, I know we're going to give it everything that we have. Anything can happen in a one-game scenario. I'm just super proud of this bunch.
"They're probably closer or as close to one another as any bunch I've ever had. As far as the team chemistry and playing as a team, it doesn't get any better than the bunch that I have right now."