By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

MANCHESTER – They gave it their best shot, but it wasn’t quite enough.

The Troup National 7-8-year-old all-stars arrived in Manchester on Saturday morning needing one win to capture the Dixie Youth Baseball district championship.

Unfortunately for Troup National, it was Thomaston walking away with two hard-fought wins to claim the district title.

By virtue of its second-place finish, Troup National did earn an invitation to the state tournament that begins on Friday in Cochran.

“We’re going to keep practicing, and keep getting better,” said Nick Poe, Troup National’s head coach. “That’s what it’s all about is to keep developing.”

Troup National guaranteed itself at least a second-place finish by winning two games on Friday.

After opening with a 34-3 win over Hogansville, Troup National earned a wild 32-31 win over Manchester.

Thomaston, which lost to Manchester on Friday, won the rematch between those teams on Saturday morning to reach the championship round.

Thomaston then rallied in the sixth and final inning to beat Troup National 7-6 before securing the title with a 14-11 victory.

“It’s a tough one, but I’m excited to see them compete given another week of practice,” Poe said. “Even from the first practice to now, they’ve all gotten a lot better. Weather-permitting we’ll continue to practice and see them improve.”

While the coaches have worked with the players on improving their skills on the field, Poe said there has also been an emphasis placed on playing the game the right way.

“It’s all about the learning, the fundamentals, and the right way to play the game,” Poe said. “Whether you win or lose, and obviously we want to win, but I want these kids to come out here and understand how the game is supposed to be played. I want them to play the game with respect and honor, win or lose. I want them to understand, knowing what to do when the ball is hit to them, knowing what to do when we have base runners on.”

Here’s a look at Saturday’s two games:

GAME ONE

Thomaston 7 

Troup National 6

Trailing by one heading to the sixth inning, Troup National rallied for a pair of runs to surge ahead, but Thomaston won it with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

Troup’s sixth-inning rally began with a Cameron Poe double, and Ben Brown reached on an infield single.

With two outs, Taedon Pope’s infield single drove in a run, and the go-ahead run scored when the throw to first went awry.

Troup scored its first run in the second inning on a Pope RBI single.

In the third inning, Poe brought in a run with a double, and Brown’s RBI single gave Troup a 3-1 lead.

After Thomaston tied it, Troup plated a single run in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

Wilson Stroud singled and later scored when Jackson Williamson reached on an error.

Thomaston scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to go back ahead, leading into the dramatic final inning.

GAME TWO

Thomaston 14

Troup 11

Trailing by six runs, Troup made things interesting by scoring three runs in the final inning before the rally fell short.

Ezra Cook led off with a double, and he scored on an RBI single by Latravious Pettitt.

After Taedon Pope singled, Cameron Poe and Brenan Swanson had RBI hits to get Troup within three when the game ended.

Troup started quickly with three runs in the top of the first inning.

Poe and Axle Smith both had RBI singles, and another run scored when Swanson reached on an error.

Thomaston answered with six runs in the bottom of the first inning to go up 6-3.

Back came Troup, which tied it with three runs in the second inning.

Stroud and Cook kicked things off with base hits, Jackson Williamson drove them both in with a double, and Pope tied it with an RBI single

Trailing 9-6, Troup scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to get within a one.

Cook had an RBI single in the top of the third, and Swanson knocked in a run with a base hit in the fourth inning.

Thomaston regained control with four runs in the fourth inning, and it added one more run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 14-8 lead.

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