Is Lee County the “Cinderella?”

LEESBURG — Will Cinderella’s slipper fit? The Lee County Trojans might just be the “Cinderella” of the Class AAAAAA state baseball playoffs after pulling two three-game upsets over Stephenson and Greenbrier. Their next challenge will be the toughest yet. Pope is the defending state champion two years in a row, including a 2016 win over Lee County in the state finals. They made the final four the year before that. So if the Trojans find a way to win in Marietta, that Cinderella label might fit.

The Trojans left Leesburg on Tuesday afternoon to make the trek to Marietta to face perennial baseball power Pope High School. The Pope Greyhounds sport a 27-7 record and came into the playoffs as the Region 7 champion.

“They have a winning culture and believe they will win every time they take the field,” said Lee County head coach Brian Trivette. “They do not have any true weaknesses. This will be another tough series,” he said.

The Trojans were scheduled to stop in Locust Grove, just south of Atlanta, Tuesday afternoon for a practice before tomorrow’s doubleheader.

Lee County (19-17) is the only four seed left in the state playoffs. Region champions Winder-Barrow, Houston County, Pope, Effingham County, Harrison and Heritage make up six of the eight remaining teams. Allatoona and Lee County are the only non-region champions still battling. Allatoona was the number two team in Region 6 and they lost to Pope in the finals last year.

The Trojans will be looking for strong pitching again from seniors Matt Cooper and Logan Goff, as well as Hill Corley and Jacob Bariwck, among others. The Trojans will also look for timely hitting by Barwick, Goff, Seth Nelson, Chase Somers, Flint Davis and, of course, center fielder Spencer Hanson. The Trojans should have most everyone ready to play.

“We are mostly healthy,” Trivette said.

Joe Whitfield