THOMASVILLE — It was about an hour before first pitch in Mableton against Pace Academy. Thomasville head baseball coach Erik McDougald decided to peek out of the dugout and take a look at the stands. 

Pace was the home team for the Class AA state semifinals series. 

But the crowd was decidedly Thomasville that day. 

“I was shocked and amazed and humbled for the people who showed up,” McDougald said, “people who lived in Atlanta who were from Thomasville, from old times to current. If they lived nearby, they came to check us out. Relatives, friends, family and graduates, they showed up.”

By the bracket, Thomasville is the home team for the Class AA state championship at Georgia Southern University’s J.I. Clements Stadium. 

Their opponent, the Vidalia Indians, have a much shorter drive to Statesboro and Clements — about an hour, as opposed to the three-plus hours from Thomasville.

“Vidalia has a home game,” McDougald said. 

The stadium holds 3,000 people — it might not be enough capacity for the best-of-three series, that starts Monday. 

“I feel like the whole town is going to come,” senior Bulldogs pitcher Ben Rawlings said. “Having that big crowd helps a lot.”

McDougald said he is calling on the community to make the trip one last time this season. Though his message to his players is always on focusing on their task at hand, the support from fans is substantial, he said.

“They probably wouldn’t admit it too much but when you look up there and see people, you want to play for them,” he said.