THOMASVILLE — In Thomasville baseball head coach Erik McDougald’s own words, his team isn’t sneaking up on anyone now.

With a berth in the Class 2A Elite Eight, the Bulldogs have made their presence known in the state playoffs thus far, and will look to continue their run tonight against a pitching-heavy Elbert County team at Bryant-Garner Athletic Complex.

“The big thing for us is focusing on what you do,” McDougald said. “You plan and you prepare, but we want to execute what we want to do.”

What Thomasville has done best so far is get timely hits. In last week’s series against Dade County, the Bulldogs’ hitters did just that, with Buck Bennett, Hayden Donalson, Parker Zolt and Harrison Stewart each contributing well. Stewart has already secured a school record for triples in a single season.

“The biggest thing that’s worked for us is patience,” McDougald said. “We may not execute on the first at-bat but when we come back around for our second and third at-bats, we’ve been much better each and every time.”

The Bulldogs have also seen some strong pitching performances as of late. In his last three starts, Bennett has been a workhorse, going over six innings in each appearance. In Game 2 against Dade, Jacob Bradshaw pitched a complete game in Thomasville’s 6-3 win.

“He’s had his ups and downs, but the biggest games that Bradshaw’s been on the mound, he’s done a good job,” McDougald said. “He doesn’t really feel the pressure. He just goes out and exists in his own little world and gives the best effort he can.”

This week, Thomasville’s offense will face a significant challenge against Elbert, the champion of Region 8-2A. The Blue Devils have a pitching staff with a combined ERA of 1.85.

Leading Elbert’s rotation is senior Colton Moon, who boasts an 11-1 record with 82 strikeouts over 71.1 innings. Daniel Lavender and Bryce Bowen are also solid arms for the Blue Devils, with ERAs of 0.70 and 1.21 with around 50 innings pitched for each.

“We know that we’ll see some really good pitching,” McDougald said. “We need to go up there and work the count. That pitch count in South Georgia weather’s gonna add up quickly. That’s the idea going into it — good at-bats.”

With how young the Bulldogs are as a senior-less team, expectations were still high going into this year. Thomasville hopes it can keep the ride going just a little while longer.

“The goals we laid out back in January are written on a white board in our locker room,” McDougald said. “Just about every one of those goals has been checked off and accomplished. We wanted to make the Elite Eight and not be satisfied. It’s learning how to compete, and that’s a lifelong skill.”