Cinderella.  Under dog.  Long shot.  Any of those adjectives describe the ADM Baseball team in their run through the District Tournament, but the Tigers showed that certainly wasn’t the case.  ADM played like the experienced, confident favorite that belonged in Des Moines among the state’s best.

After pulling off a 3-1 win at Harlan last Wednesday, the Tigers head to the biggest diamond in the state this morning to face Cedar Rapids Xavier in the Quarterfinals of the Class 3A State Baseball Tournament.

ADM is 14-16, and Cedar Rapids Xavier is 38-2.  Again, it seems like the Tigers are the long shot in this match-up, but don’t be phased by the records.  The three teams ADM beat in the District bracket were all well over .500.  Glenwood was 20-11, DC-G was 24-14, and Harlan was 26-8.

The bottom line is that ADM can beat Xavier today.  The Tigers will need to play much like they did in the past three games.  Pitching will need to be on cue, like it was in Districts.  Defensively, ADM will need to play clean as there’s little room for error.  And offensively, Jason Book’s team needs to continue to their small-ball approach and manufacture runs when the opportunity presents itself.

It seems like a tall task, but it’s not out of the question.  If ADM can do those things, and do them well, the Tigers have a very good chance of moving on to the Semifinals on Friday.

Today’s game will begin at 11:00am this morning, and if you can’t make to Principal Park for the game, be sure to tune in for live, play-by-play action on K107.9.  You can also stream the game live at raccoonvalleyradio.com, or on your iPhone or Android with our free KKRF mobile app.  That’s ADM and Cedar Rapids Xavier in State Baseball Tournament action this morning on the Raccoon Valley Radio Network.