CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. -- Mike Dunfee is one of those glass-half-full people, which is serving the Gordon Lee baseball coach well during the Georgia high school postseason.
A week after sweeping the GHSA Class AA defending state champions from Savannah's Benedictine School on the road, the Trojans face the ultimate test of their championship mettle today as they travel to top-ranked Wesleyan for a doubleheader start to a best-of-three quarterfinal series.
The Wolves are 26-4, have a handful of NCAA Division I prospects and a couple of possible major league draftees and are ranked in the top 400 nationally by MaxPreps.
For the Trojans, it's just another day in the ballpark.
"We knew this wasn't going to be an easy road to get back to the finals," said Dunfee, referencing his program's two consecutive trips to the Class A public school championship round. "This is another great test for us, but we're looking forward to playing them."
Gordon Lee (19-7) went the distance the past two seasons, losing both times in game three of the championship round at Charlton County. Those devastating defeats, Dunfee believes, have led the Trojans to this point in 2015, and they serve as both motivation and assurance that the moment won't be too big.
They're the reason the Trojans were able to go into hostile territory a week ago and not blink an eye.
Gordon Lee's Chaney Rogers pitches against Dade County in Chickamauga. "The road trips the last two years," Dunfee said, pausing, "if we don't do those trips, we don't win in Savannah. These guys are hungry."
Dunfee said today's opponent does not have a weakness to exploit, that his team will have to win it instead of hoping the Wolves make nervous mistakes.
Wesleyan boasts a .351 team batting average and a team earned run average of 1.68 while playing in perhaps the toughest region in Georgia, 6-AA. Three of that region's teams, including Lovett and Greater Atlanta Christian, are still alive in the playoffs.
Senior outfielder Jahmai Jones, hitting .464 with four homers, 31 runs scored and 24 stolen bases, is the table setter, while Brendon Abernathy (.429), Andrew Sauer (.333) and Will Collins (.357) are the chief run producers. It's the pitching, though, where the Wolves usually outclass opponents, led by Sauer, who has a 0.62 ERA in 33 innings, and Christian Stark, who is striking out nearly two batters an inning and boasts a 1.85 ERA.
Gordon Lee can match the Wolves' pitching, though, led by senior Conard Broom, who enters the game with an 8-1 record and has given up three earned runs all season. Sophomore Chaney Rogers has been nearly as stingy and is coming off perhaps his best outing, a three-hit shutout in game two of the Benedictine series.
Rogers, like his coach, said the heartbreak of recent seasons can only help the Trojans this time around. As a freshman he started game three last season against Charlton, losing 2-1 on an unearned run. He said he's ready for today's challenge.
"Last year's championship series made me grow up a little bit," he said. "It was nerve-racking at the start, but once I settled down it wasn't so bad and I was able to pitch my game. I do believe that experience will help me against Wesleyan, and it helped me last week."
Dunfee is counting on it, and with a team full of experienced pressure players he's eager to watch them take on this next challenge.
"Their determination and heart ... man, I love 'em," he said. "They want it. They got that taste of getting to the finals, and these seniors want to finish the job."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.