FRANKENMUTH -- It's the first quarterfinal appearance for the Frankenmuth baseball team in school history. That's following their first regional title when they topped Flint Powers 8-1 last Saturday.
Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles take on Saginaw Nouvel at 3 PM at SVSU.
The Panthers definitely have more experience than the Eagles in the post season, Nouvel has four state titles and two runner-up finishes.
Eagles Head Coach Gordon Culver said the trick now is to keep his squad focused and relaxed, hence the laid back feel at Monday's practice at Frankenmuth.
The Eagles bats have been hot. They're averaging 10.5 runs per game in the tournament, but Culver said it's their upgraded defense that's gotten them this far.
"Lately, and since the tournament started, it's been defense," Culver said. "We put up a lot of errors early in the season, and have come around as of late. We've done a nice job of playing good defense when we needed to and the hits have been there all season and they've just kind of continued for us."
"I guess we've peaked at the right time," Senior Catcher Zack Robinson said. "We all started hitting the ball well and at the end of the season, and we were basically error-free for the last five or six games."
