Tony Antley has seen much success in 32 years as head coach of the Choudrant High School baseball team.
Antley’s second-seeded Aggies will play in the Class B semifinals against 11th-seeded Anacoco at 1 p.m. today at McMurray Park in Sulphur.
The Aggies are aiming for their sixth state title (1996, 2002, 2005, 2017 and 2021) under Antley, who guided them to the state finals four more times (1990, 2006, 2010, 2011). The Aggies were semifinalists in 2018 and 2015.
And Choudrant is looking for more than to defend last season’s title and win back-to-back championships for the first time ever.
They’re also battling to send Antley out on top in his final season at the team’s helm before retiring at the end of the school year.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen,” said Aggies junior Landon Hennen. “We want to do that for him. We want to do it for us, too. But he deserves it and we want to give him that one last moment.”
Choudrant defeated Elizabeth in last season’s title game after defeating Glenmora for the 2017 title.
The last time Choudrant faced Anacoco in the playoffs came in 2018 when the fourth-seeded Aggies defeated the 13th-seeded Indians 4-3 in second-round play.
Choudrant enters the contest at 25-7 on the season and is riding a 10-game win streak with postseason wins over 12th-seeded Maurepas (4-1) and seventh-seeded Glenmora (8-2).
“We’ve been playing some of our baseball of the season lately, especially in the playoffs,” Antley said. “We’re still just focusing on one game at a time, and next up is Anacoco. They’re not in the playoffs, but they’re in the semifinals, so you know they have to be pretty good. We’ll have to continue playing some of our best baseball to get past them.”
Anacoco stands at 13-15 on the season with playoff wins over Bell City (3-2), Monterey (12-5) and Florien (16-3).
“The thing about this year’s team is that they don’t give up – there’s no quit in them,” Antley said about his Aggies. “They find ways to get it done and do what it takes to win. They’re determined.”
Antley is determined, too, but most of all to keep the focus on his team.
“I know it’s my final season and all, but this isn’t about me,” Antley said. “This is about those players fighting toward a second straight state title. That’s all that matters. This is about them fighting to make history.
“We know we’ll have to pitch well and play solid if not perfect defense. We know we’ll have to find ways to push across some runs. But this team has found a way all season long and we know we can find a way to do it again. We’re going to give it everything we have trying to make that happen.”
