The King's Ridge (KR) Tigers improbable long shot bid to win the state Division A baseball championship continues tomorrow when they open a best of three series with a 2:00 p.m. double-header at the Providence Christian Academy Stars (PCA) in Lilburn.

The Tigers -- who have advanced to the tournament's quarterfinals in their maiden season playing GHSA ball -- are among only eight teams remaining in the state playoffs. They got there by disposing of Athens Academy, Aquinas and Mt. Paran, respectively. King's Ridge does not have a single senior on their 14-man roster.

Getting by PCA on the road is a tall order. The Stars vanquished the Tigers in their two head to head games played earlier in the season by a combined score of 20-4, winning 10-4 and 10-0. But Tigers head coach Jason Couch says not to worry, that was then and this is now. "Hopefully, this playoff series will be different," Couch said. "Our hitting has improved, our kids are more focused and the three playoff wins we earned to get us here has boosted our confidence since then," the first year coach added. "Our energy and intensity level is [much] higher now than it was when we played them in the regular season."

Couch said he plans to start Patrick McClure in game one and Luke McCracken in game two, both righties. One of KR's deficiencies: no southpaw pitchers. 

"McClure has been our best pitcher all season," Couch said. "He doesn't have overwhelming stuff, but his location is impeccable, he keeps hitters off balance and he keeps us in games."

McClure, who throws pretty hard, wreaks havoc with hitters' timing by mixing in an array of off-speed pitches that nibble around the black. His straight change is his bread and butter "out" pitch.

The fact that KR does not have a senior on their roster plays to their advantage in this series. Couch calls it youthful exuberance. "Our kids are just having fun," he says. "They have no pressure on them whatsoever."

He may have a point. A team loaded with seniors can often get tight in a close game, knowing that if they lose, that game could be their last played in organized ball for the rest of their life. But the KR underclassmen know they'll all be back again next season, win or lose. Couch maintains that makes them very dangerous right now – and keeps them loose.

TIGERS THREE KEYS TO WINNING THE SERIES

KR needs to do three things to knock off PCA. First, they have to avoid the first game errors like they had in the Mt. Paran series. Where they could recover from a few miscues against the Eagles, they simply can't give the Stars four or five outs in an inning. Their hitters will pounce on those mistakes.

Second, they can't give up the big inning. In both regular season losses to PCA, one nightmare frame blew the games wide open and left the Tigers eating dust. That has to be avoided. If KR can stay close in every game, they'll have a shot. Finally, Devon Schmitt's bat has to get going -- and fast. The team's most consistent hitter all season, Schmitt [pictured left] had a rather quiet series against Mt. Paran, and bounced into a couple double plays while trying to pull pitches away. With McCracken hitting everything not nailed down, a big series from Schmitt can put a lot of runs on the board for the Tigers.

PREDICTION: KING'S RIDGE OVER PCA IN THREE GAMES