Trojans Volunteer State trip paying dividends

FINDLAY – Cabin fever gets a bad rap.And Jordan Nell has the proof to back that up.He sees it every day in practice, and every time he sends his Findlay High baseball team onto the field."These guys, they mesh really well," Nell said."That trip to Tennessee when we stayed in that cabin together helped."You've got to have some talent. A little luck helps at times, too. But one of our strengths is that these guys get along so well. That's 99 percent of the battle."Findlay went 2-3 on its spring trip to Tennessee. The Trojans then dropped their 2026 home opener, 5-4, to a strong Defiance program.Since then, though, the Trojans have run off six straight wins, capped by Saturday's 7-1 victory over Tinora on a wet and windy day at Woody Curlis Field.Seniors Blade Wendt and Reece Stillings and junior letterman Jacob Gebhardt all had two hits against Tinora. Caleb Kanney, a sophomore right-hander, allowed just one run in 6-1/3 innings in earning the win on the mound.Nell knew he'd have an experienced group of players for his third season as FHS coach. That's because one of the oddities about his second year as head coach was that there were no seniors on the roster.Despite that rare absence of upper classmen, Findlay went 19-8, matching the school's second best season in terms of wins since 2015."It's nice to have that experience, as long as it's good experience and for the most part that's what we have," Nell said."They understand our program, our philosophy, how we do things and that allows us to build levels, so that a huge advantage."Nell credits much of Findlay's recent success to that trip south."We played an extremely competitive schedule, which is good," he said."It was challenging for us at the beginning, but it was good for us to play the teams we did."If cabin fever had any effect in those cramped confines in the Tennessee hills, it might have fueled a fire of sorts. After two one-run losses, Findlay rallied to score the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning and beat Alcoa 8-7 in the final game of its spring trip. Back at home, the Trojans have twice gotten either clutch hits, shut-down pitching or heads-up defensive plays during their six-game winning streak."We've had some close wins, some comebacks," Nell said."We're still moving people around. I think a part of it is you have to have versatile players. We have good athletes, kids that play multiple sports."It's experience, and some of it comes down to mental toughness in the right ways and executing in key situations, especially in our league."Findlay opens this week with a pivotal home-and-home Northern Lakes League doubleheader, with Perrysburg (5-6) in town today and hosting Findlay on Tuesday. Tuesday's contest also begins stretch where the Trojans will play five of six games on the road, capped by a May 5-6 home-and-home date with Anthony Wayne (5-4).Findlay enters today's game 2-0 in the Northern Lake League's Buckeye Division. Perrysburg and Anthony Wayne are both 1-1 in the Buckeye Division. Toledo Whitmer, as of Sunday had yet to play a Buckeye Division game, while Sylvania Northview was 0-2 according to the NLL website.