TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – It\u2019s a feeling that the Valwood baseball team hasn\u2019t forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying through the playoffs, it was sitting in the back of our mind,\u201d remembered senior Chase Helfer of settling for state runners-up after playing for a state championship in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s several of those guys with the feeling that hey man, we had the opportunity and we\u2019re grateful to get it back,\u201d said head coach Robert Shipman. \u201cNot just grateful to be here. We want to play as hard as we can and we want to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting the job done. It\u2019s been the focus all season, and now the Valiants are two wins away from sealing the deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s kind of hard not to think about, but like I said, it speaks to our discipline just being ourselves and focusing on the right thing at the right time,\u201d said senior Josh Skinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur kids were talking about it early on. If we can get the work done, play together, and overcome adversity, we\u2019ll have a pretty good shot this year,\u201d said Shipman.<\/p>\n
Adding to an already special season, as they\u2019ve won 20-plus games for the first time ever, and captured their first outright region title in Shipman\u2019s 13 seasons at Valwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want it nothing more than to win the state championship for coach Shipman,\u201d said Skinner. \u201cHe\u2019s coached for 25 years. It\u2019d be everything for me just to win it for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would it be like to run out for the 7th inning of a state championship knowing that you\u2019re three outs away,\u201d said Helfer. \u201cI think that\u2019s what\u2019s drove us this whole year, especially down the stretch here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their opponent? Valwood\u2019s already beat Deerfield-Windsor this season. It was a series win that clinched that region title.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what we\u2019re capable of,\u201d said Skinner. \u201cWe just have to go an execute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just know who they are, what they\u2019re capable of,\u201d added Shipman. \u201cSame way with us. We know it\u2019s going to be an awesome, awesome battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
And hopefully an awesome, awesome win to bring home that very first state championship. Game one of the best of three series between Valwood and Deerfield-Windsor is Thursday at 4:00 at Georgia Southern.<\/p>\n
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