It was a short practice for the Meadowview Christian baseball team Thursday afternoon. The team worked on its fielding and tried to have some fun, just one day before one of the biggest baseball games in school history.

The Trojans will take on Tabernacle Christian Friday at Tuscaloosa Christian at 1 p.m. in the Alabama Christian Athletic Association semifinals. The game was originally scheduled for 5 p.m., but was moved up four hours due to the threat of rain.

“They are trying to get all the games moved up earlier, so hopefully we can get that done,” said Meadowview coach Lebo Jones.

Meadowview (13-4) hasn’t played a game in over a week. The Trojans last regular game of the year was scheduled against Tabernacle last Thursday, but it ended up getting rained out. After the umpires had left, the teams played a scrimmage game for fun and had a chance to get a sneak peek at what the other side brought to the table.

“They have three or four guys that can really hit the ball hard, so we’ve got to be at our best to win,” Jones said.

The Trojans plan to get to Tuscaloosa by 10 a.m. Friday so they can watch the other semifinal between Tuscaloosa Christian and Victory-Columbus (MS). The winners of both games will play Saturday at noon in the ACAA state championship.

“There’s a lot of anticipation and we want nothing more than to win first,” said Meadowview’s Mason Kendrick. “Not second, third or fourth. We want to win first.”

Meadowview won three games all of last season, but has had a spot in the semifinals wrapped up for weeks. The layoff has been great for recovering from injuries and other bumps and bruises, but it could also result in a rusty team Friday morning.

“It’s good for rest, but we are really excited about playing, and we want to play,” Jones said. “Sometimes in baseball you have too much time off, but I think it was good for us overall to rest everybody’s arms and get more practice time in.”

Meadowview pitcher Jeremy Lee, who will start Friday’s game, has not pitched in a game in about three weeks. Jones said Lee’s rest can only be a good thing for the Trojans.

“It’s a huge advantage for us. He hasn’t pitched in a game in about three weeks, so his arm has a lot of rest. It’s working out good for us,” Jones said. “Hopefully he will be able to throw the ball real hard. I just hope he isn’t real rusty.”

If Meadowview is able to win two more games, the team will clinch one of the first baseball championships in school history. Jones believes it would be the school’s first.

“It’d feel like [being] a legend, like you’re that team every team looks back on and thinks ‘we’ve got to be like that team,’” said Chemar McGuire. “We aren’t the best but we come out here and work hard and we get better every day.”