The only mention of state baseball tournaments before the start of this season was in reference of the 20th anniversary of the 1992 state-champion Pioneers.Nobody envisioned the current crop of Pioneers, who came into the season with 17 wins in three seasons, to be playing in late May. But with one more win, Warren County will be in the state tournament.The Pioneers take on the Riverdale Warriors tonight at 6 p.m. and the winner will advance to the BlueCross Spring Fling tournament held in Murfreesboro next week.Warren County (21-18) will get a sneak peak at playing in Murfreesboro when the Pioneers travel to take on the Warriors tonight.The Pioneers will reprise their usual role of underdogs when the team takes the field against the 29-10 District 7-AAA champions who feature a roster loaded with future college players.Warren County earned its way into sectionals by beating the Ooltewah Owls 4-3 in nine innings Monday, but lost the right to host sectionals when the Pioneers were beaten 10-7 by Walker Valley on Wednesday.Riverdale defeated the Columbia Lions 1-0 to begin regional play, then won a regional championship late Wednesday night when the Warriors defeated the Tullahoma Wildcats 11-5 in 10 innings.First-year Warren County head coach Adam Childs knows the challenge the Warriors present, but he feels like anything can happen in a win-or-go-home game.“Riverdale is going to be a tough opponent, but they are 14-18-year-old kids like we are and can make mistakes,” said Childs. “We just need to go play our game, put pressure on them and continue to fight.“Anything can happen in a one-game playoff.
Ready for Warriors