The Demopolis High Tigers knocked off the Daleville Warhawks 13-3 in Wednesday’s first round of the AHSAA baseball playoffs, and they did it with a hitting performance that has been all too quite through most of the regular season.

So what happened?

Many may have thought that surely the Tigers were going to crack like a bad stucco job come Wednesday like they have in the past, but not this team, not with that kind of hitting.

The signs of a mental breakdown were not there on Wednesday, in fact; the Tigers looked to be hitting the ball better than they have throughout most of the season. Along with junior Chad Schroeder’s impressive hitting performance, there were numerous other Tigers who looked to be swinging the bat in the right direction.

Devin Goodwin went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Bart Pettus went 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs. William Meador and Clarke Kerby both went 2-for-4 on the day, while Jonathan Sommers went 2-for-3.

But the most surprising aspects of Wednesday’s game came from two players who only had one hit apiece. Second basemen Blake Butler went 1-for-4 on the day, but ripped a 2 RBI triple in the sixth inning to give the Tigers a 12-3 lead. And third basemen Seth Basinger went 1-for-3 on the day, but his double in the sixth was the one that put the game away for the Tigers.

After watching this game, one may begin to wonder why it is that this team has not been hitting like this all season? But the answer just might be in that there hasn’t been enough at stake up till now.

I’ve seen this team respond like this one other time this season when they hosted Jackson High School in what was perhaps the most exciting game of the season.

Down by one in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Tigers responded at the plate to send the game into extra innings. Refusing to lose to a team with a 9-17 record, the Tigers did what they needed to at the plate in the eighth inning and came back to win 2-1.

Perhaps the Tigers just respond better to pressure. If that is the case, then it could be a great month of baseball for Tiger fans

“This one was a huge mental victory for us,” Moody said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about it though. But I am glad that it’s over because now we can have fun and play some baseball.”