It’s time to play ball.

After nearly a month’s worth of practices, with many of those sessions held under the unforgiving summer sun, the Troup American 11-12-year-old baseball team is a day away from beginning what it hopes will be a successful tournament stay.

Troup American will participate in the Dixie Youth Baseball District 1 tournament beginning Saturday in Thomaston.

The top finishers in the tournament will advance to the state tournament in Albany, with the winner there moving on the Dixie World Series.

“They’re practiced up,” Troup American coach Brent Bailey said. “They need a game to see what they can do.”

All of the players on the team participated in the Troup County Parks and Recreation Commission’s spring season, and Bailey said they’ve all done a nice job of fitting in together.

“They’ve done good,” Bailey said. “They all know each other, so it kind of worked out.”

Troup American has an experienced roster, with most of the players having participated in all-star tournaments before.

Another thing working in Troup American’s favor could be a pitching staff which Bailey believes is a strength of the team.

“I think we’re pretty good with our pitching,” Bailey said. “As long as we hit the ball, we’re going to be fine. Defensively, we’re fundamentally sound. As far as our pitching goes, we’ve got some depth. We’ve got four solid pitchers that can take us a whole game, and we’ve got some good relief help too.”

Bailey figures the team has everything it takes to succeed.

Now, it’s just a matter of making it happen.

“They just have to perform,” Bailey said.