Alright, they are 4-11. There is no disputing that point. There is no debating the value of winning in sports.

However, to assess Demopolis baseball by record alone would be to miss the big picture.

The latest in a line of Demopolis losses — a Friday punch in the gut by Bibb County — is largely indicative of this team’s personality.

But it isn’t the loss itself that defines Demopolis, it’s way the game went down.

Most telling of their make-up was that seventh inning. That fateful seventh inning.

Bibb rallied to add a run to its lead and then attempted to steal third. On a play in which third baseman Trey Oates appeared to have certainly applied the tag in time, the runner was called safe.

Demopolis responded with a strong defensive effort to stop the bleeding before coming back out and staging a comeback attempt. The effort landed haphazardly in the Bibb County leftfielder’s glove, but the next probably won’t. Though they may not feel like it, the Tigers have started to do all of the little things right. On top of it, they have received a crash course in adversity.

Those two things add up to one simple fact. Demopolis is almost out of the woods. Their schedule may not soften soon, but neither will the Tigers.