When the pre-season high school baseball rankings came out a couple weeks ago and Paul Laurence Dunbar wasn't in the top 25, the Bulldogs' players had a different reaction than their coach.
The players were miffed and insulted that six other Lexington teams were ranked, but they weren't.
Dunbar Coach Larry Poynter, on the other hand, said he "smiled real big."
"I knew our guys were really looking forward to this year, and not being ranked added a little bit more motivation for them," he said.
That extra motivation has helped Dunbar get off to a terrific start this chilly spring.
The Bulldogs are 6-0, including an 11-10 win over Tates Creek Tuesday night at Memorial Sports Complex in Nicholasville.
Graham Winchester, who ripped a three-run homer in the victory, said being left out of the rankings "added a little fuel to the fire. We've definitely surprised people, but we're definitely not a surprise to ourselves."
Poynter admitted he's a little surprised by "how well we've come out of the gate, starting with the Male game."
Dunbar beat No. 7 Male 10-9 in 11 innings in the season opener.
Tuesday's victory over No. 24 Tates Creek, which took nearly three hours in cold, windy conditions, was another indication of the Bulldogs' tenacity.
Dunbar jumped ahead of the Commodores 5-1 in the first, with Clint Baumgardner and Kyle Monthie driving in two runs apiece. Dunbar added another run in the second to make it 6-1.
Winchester, getting his first start on the mound this year, worked three strong innings before Tates Creek rallied for four runs. Devon Hairston and Nick Richmond got hits to get things going for the Commodores.
Leading 7-5, Dunbar added three runs in the bottom of the fifth on Winchester's three-run homer to left.
He said the trip around the base paths warmed him up.
"That got some blood pumping for sure," he said.
Tates Creek answered with two runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 10-7, but the Commodores were on the brink of defeat when Dunbar reliever Trent Martin retired the first two batters in the top of the seventh.
After Ryan Fucci and Dorian Hairston singled to keep the Commodores alive, Poynter brought left-hander Tyler DeAgano in from center field to close it out.
But DeAgano's first pitch to Landon Skaggs was a fastball down the middle, and Skaggs smashed a towering three-run homer to tie it.
"It was cool and I didn't have my velocity," DeAgano said. "But give him credit. It was right in his wheelhouse and he hit it."
DeAgano got the next batter on a groundout.
Dunbar immediately shook off the effects of Skaggs' bomb by quickly loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh.
That brought DeAgano to the plate with a chance to redeem himself. "I knew I had to step up for my team," he said. "I was just looking to put something in the outfield."
He did just that by slicing a high shot to left-center that chased home Monthie with the winning run.
"I'm really proud of the way we reacted to that situation," Poynter said. "It showed a lot of character.
"Our biggest thing now is that we've got to keep getting better. We don't know how high the ceiling is for us."
Being ranked in the next top 25 would be a good place to start.
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