ALCOA, Tenn — The wait is finally over for the Alcoa baseball team, which will make its first state tournament appearance in 20 years this season.
You have to go back to head coach Steve Dunn's first year as Alcoa's head coach to find the team's last appearance in 2004. Dunn says it's a testament to how special this team is that they've gotten to this point.
"It's been a journey to get here," Dunn said. "It's hard to get into a state tournament and to the kids' credit, they did it."
Alcoa players said that they can tell how excited Dunn is to be back on this stage, and that has added another level to the state tournament run.
"He's the heart and soul of everything that has been built," Alcoa senior second baseman Bryce Hayes said. "He's set the building blocks for us to get to where we are now."
The team said its job is not done now that they're back in the tournament, and they still have plenty of business left to take care of.
"This is where we want to get, but this is not where we want to end," Hayes said. "We've got four more games to win and that is going to mean so much to me, this city, everybody else on the team and all the fans who have supported us throughout the years."
Alcoa will play its first state tournament game on Tuesday, May 21 against Milan at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro.