VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — The Lowndes high school baseball team still playing for a state title in Georgia hails from Titletown, as Lowndes is determined to stake their claim as the best team in 7A. A state title is a dream this group is ready to fulfill as the Vikings as they head to Atlanta to face Parkview inside Truist Park starting Tuesday night.
"When you play well, you feel good," said Lowndes head coach Ryan Page. "Everything that they have put into it, all the sweat, the tears, the late nights, the long falls, everything that they have done, I think that they are hungry. That is the biggest thing. They are hungry. When something is right in front of you like this is right in front of them, I think they understand what is at stake, and I think they are ready to go."
The Vikings are ready to get to Atlanta and get a job done. Lowndes is a team on a mission, and they are just two wins shy of their first state title since 2000.
"That has been the goal, all off-season, every day," said Caleb Thornton, a senior pitcher for the Vikings. "Just working out, early mornings, late nights, that has been the goal, so hopefully we can end it off the right way."
To do that, the Vikings will need to go through Parkview, a powe, who has won four titles in 7A dating back to 2015.
"There is a big chip," said senior first baseman Cooper Melvin. "Everybody doubted us in the beginning of the season. We got off to a slow start, but we knew that this team had the talent. Now I think we are kind of proving to everybody wrong, and we are ready to prove them wrong one more time."
The guys are confident, and they know they will have their city on their side, so you can expect a whole lot of Crimson and White inside that stadium on Tuesday night.
"Ms. McCall, she canceled school on Tuesday and I think it's going to be a lot of people," said Melvin.
"This is why they call it Winnersville," added Page. "These people around here love their sports. They get behind these young men, and I think that Viking Nation is going to show up."
A series that can only be described as can't miss baseball, and the Vikings are ready to show the state that they are the team to beat. Game one of the best of three Championship series to decide a state champion is Tuesday night at 5:00 in Atlanta.
