CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. — At the start of the first practice before every playoff series begins, Gordon Lee High School baseball players gather in the dugout and get the skinny on their next opponent.
It’s a session that takes maybe 10 minutes, regardless of who’s about to be in the opposing dugout, and coach Mike Dunfee doesn’t plan to change his ways now.
“When we go to the next round, in our first practice we talk a little about them and a lot about us,” the 15-year Trojans’ coach said. “I don’t want to focus too much on them. If you focus too much on the other dugout you’re already beat.”
The other dugout in Tuesday’s doubleheader start to a GHSA Class A Division I best-of-three series at top-seeded Gordon Lee (36-2) belongs to Vidalia, a 20-14 squad that is seeded 20th in the bracket. One of the only things Dunfee said about the Indians to his team is to ignore that number.
“They are catching fire right now,” he said. “They were in a tough region, so they are battle-tested. I don’t think they’re a 20-seed. Hey, you don’t get to the Final Four by luck. They are going to come in here with a lot of confidence and hopefully we play them the same way.