THOMASVILLE —
In a season filled with peaks and valleys, Thomasville ended the year with a disappointing sweep at the hands of Appling County in the first round of the Class AA playoffs.
It didn't stop Bulldogs coach Erik McDougald from being very complimentary of his squad that finished 14-12.
"With our youth and being kind of young as we were, we went toe-to-toe with a lot of teams that were older and had some really good ballplayers," McDougald said. "We won some and we lost some. I think, if I look back it, I'm very pleased with the year that we had. We can get real caught up in the near misses, but to me, we were a clutch hit away so many times throughout the year. That's just the brutal nature of baseball. Next year, we may get every clutch hit. We may not get any clutch hit. I don't know.
"I just know this year, we had a lot of opportunities and it just didn't work out for us. It's nobody's fault, it's just the way this game works. I couldn't be more pleased."
Among the bitter disappointments this past season include a 6-5 loss to Class AAAA Bainbridge, a 2-0 defeat at region rival Cook, a 3-1 loss to eventual region champion, Berrien, a 5-4 loss at Fitzgerald and a 3-1 defeat to the Purple Hurricane at home. One quality that aptly describes this year's Bulldogs was perseverance. They never quit and were a tough team to beat week in, week out.
"At least for me, I just want a group of guys that's going to work hard and fight hard. We really did that throughout the entire year," McDougald said.
For full details, see Friday's edition of the Times-Enterprise.
