ADVANCE'S BATS ARE HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME

The Advance Hornets worked.

And Advance coach Jim Below waited.

A season-long progression in the Hornets' hitting game has Below excited about the Hornets' chances at knocking off Ellington at 4 p.m. today in a Class 1A sectional baseball game in Advance, Mo.

At the beginning of the year, Below said, it wasn't uncommon for the Hornets to rack up double-digit strikeouts in a game. But that's begun to change.

"Early in the season it was atrocious, but I think we're peaking at the right time," said Below, whose squad has an 11-9 record. "We've really been hitting the ball. We've worked hard enough on it."

The improvement in hitting began, Below said, just before district play in tournaments in Dyersburg, Tenn., and Paragould, Ark.

In the last three games -- albeit against some rather weak competition in the District 3 Tournament -- the Hornets have caught fire with the bats. Advance has four players (Adam Rainey, Blane Tidwell, Aaron Cantrell and Chase Robbins) batting at least .444 over their last three games.

"Going into the season, I knew that Rainey was our only legitimate hitter," Below said. "But we're starting to reap some of the benefits of our hard work now."

Given that Advance has been getting good pitching and solid defense, Below sees the emergence of the offense as a final piece of the puzzle.

Rainey leads Advance in nearly every offensive category. For the season, he's batted .509 with four homers and 26 runs batted in.

Rainey will also assume the pitching duties today. He is 4-2 with a 2.39 earned-run average. He has truck out 52 and held opposing teams to a .177 batting average in 29 1/3 innings.

Ellington, which dropped down to Class 1A this year, comes into the game with a 14-4 record, which includes impressive victories over 2A district champions Clearwater and West County.

The Whippets, who start six sophomores and have only two seniors, are led by senior Jordan Hicks, who has an 8-1 pitching record with a 1.86 ERA and also carries a .472 batting average.

Ellington, which won its first-ever district title this year, is paced offensively by sophomore Mike Russell (.492). Other top hitters are sophomore Levi Cowan (.452) and junior Mark Buller (.414).

"They've got a pretty decent pitcher," Below said. "And I know we'll have to play well to beat them. We'll have to play good defense and we've done that. Our pitchers have been keeping the ball down and throwing strikes. And I think our hitting will be there."

Advance has never won a sectional baseball game, Below said.