MARTINS FERRY — Thursday’s game at Minerva’s Carl Michael Field will be like any other road trip for the Martins Ferry baseball team.

The team will take batting practice before boarding the bus and then go play a game. Sounds pretty simple, right?

Though the approach will be the same, the stakes are slightly higher.

With Memorial Day weekend fast approaching, the Purple Riders find themselves two wins from their first trip to the Division III state baseball tournament since 1939 as they open regional tournament play at 5 p.m.

The path to Columbus, however, is still mighty daunting. And no test is bigger than what lies ahead in defending Division III state champion Hiland, which comes in with a spotless 28-0 record.

“I told the kids that district championships are nice, but rings are forever,” Ferry head coach Anthony Reasbeck said. “I hope they can separate baseball from the (distractions) this week. A lot of teams (in the area) have won the district. We did that. Now what? I told the kids to be happy five years down the road, but not now because there is still work to do.”

The Purple Riders and Hawks survivor will play for a trip to Huntington Park on Friday against the winner of Wheelersburg and Chillicothe Zane Trace, who are meeting at Paints Stadium in Chillicothe at 5 p.m. Thursday. The regional championship game will be played at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus.

Ferry’s current focus, however, lies strictly on a Hawks’ squad which returns seven starters from last season’s state championship team. Included are four seniors who have signed to play collegiately.

“We have guys who love to play the game,” Hiland head coach Tom Gibson said. “These kids have all grown up together and have a really good understanding of the game and situations.”

Hiland is making its sixth appearance in the regional in Gibson’s 10 years at the helm. The Hawks have been to three state tournaments in that time.

Obviously, a team doesn’t win 28 consecutive baseball games without being good. Gibson, though, pointed out that his team has been involved in its fair share of nip-and-tuck affairs. Actually, the Hawks have played five, one-run games, including Monday evening when they knocked off Division I regional entrant Massillon Jackson.

“We’ve used some mirrors in some cases,” Gibson said. “All of those one-run games easily could have gone either way. We were down 1-0 to Jackson and scored a run in the sixth and seventh to win. These kids just seem to step up and make things happen when they need to.”

The Purple Riders opted not to take part in any scrimmages or make-up games this week and instead just worked on themselves during their practice sessions.

Reasbeck is trying to keep things as normal as possible as his club ventures to the school’s first regional appearance since 1976, which was long before any of the coaches, let alone players, were born.

“I don’t want the kids to understand (that there are only 16 teams left playing in Division III),” Reasbeck said. “It’s just a baseball game to the kids and that’s good. The thing that worries me the most is that they begin to understand where they are.”

Keeping his players loose, having fun and enjoying the moment are some of the battles Reasbeck and company have faced this week.

“If someone walked in off the street and saw us practice they’d never dream we were a regional team,” Reasbeck smiled. “Though, when it’s time (to play), it’s time with these guys and that’s a tribute to them.”

Reasbeck was more than pleased with the OHSAA’s decision to split the regional into two sites rather than making two Eastern District foes trek all the way to Chillicothe to play Friday afternoon.

“Minerva’s a gorgeous facility,” Reasbeck said. “I got to coach the Eastern District All-Star Game there two years ago. Turf infield, dugouts are beautiful and the seating behind home plate is beautiful. The only thing that scares me is if we win, we’re going to have to get on a bus and go south. We’ll be going basically to Canton and then to (possibly) Chillicothe in two days, which is tough. But, I hope that’s the problem we have.”

Hiland’s tournament trail has consisted of mercy-rule victories against Monroe Central (15-2), River (12-2) and Tusky Valley (10-0).

Meanwhile, Martins Ferry has found itself in three nailbiters. Gibson was actually surprised when he saw the Purple Riders’ record.

“We’ve seen Ferry play three times and they’re very good,” Gibson said. “They have two really good pitchers and we simply can’t figure out how they got beat 12 times.”

The Purple Riders have yet to hang a crooked number in any inning during the 21 they’ve played along the tournament trail. However, they’ve also yet to allow one, too. In wins over Barnesville, Garaway and Edison, Ferry has followed the same recipe.

Combine outstanding pitching with solid defense and just enough offense. Mix it all up and you’ve got respective victories by scores of 1-0, 4-0 and 2-1.

“The magic number for us (offensively) is three,” Reasbeck said. “I like our chances if we can score three runs (in a game).”

The Hawks have not yielded more than three runs in any game this season.

Meanwhile, the Purple Riders’ offense is averaing just shy of 4.5 runs per game and batting .301 as a squad. Ferry has struck out an astounding 161 times this spring.

Of the everyday position players, freshman Jacob Probst is the Riders’ leading hitter with a .394 average. He’s also driven in a team-best 18. Junior Jacob Johnson checks in at .341 and has 17 RBI, while lead-off hitter Corey Miklas bats .340 and has scored a team-high 22 runs.

Senior first baseman Dom Wallace, who has been impressive throughout the tournament, bats .337 from the sixth spot in the order. Drake Dobson bats .316.

Senior Cade Lloyd, who will DH for second baseman Taylor Fogle, has been solid this season with the bat. He also provides pitching depth. Cory Bennett has been like a second lead-off hitter in the ninth spot in the order with a .291 batting average. Senior Connor Pollock handles the catching duties.

Reasbeck and his staff got to see the Hawks live on Monday. They also saw them play Garaway earlier in the tournament trail. On top of that, Hiland knocked off Ferry in the district last season at Muskingum University en route to the state title.

“I’m probably going to sound ridiculous for saying this, but they don’t wow you. They also don’t screw up. They just keep plugging away and hope for you to screw up,” Reasbeck said. “Let’s be honest, if you win 44 straight baseball games, you’re pretty good.”

One of the keys for the Riders, according to their head coach, is jumping on Hiland as quickly as possible. Ferry, which will be the visiting team, would love to be able to stake probable starter Austin Bassa to an early lead.

“We have to punch them in the mouth as quickly as we can,” Reasbeck said. “We need to show them we’re here. If we have a rough three or four innings, it’s going to be a rough day. If we can score early, I like our odds.”

Bassa suffered the loss to the Hawks a season ago, but he certainly wasn’t battered all over the yard in the 4-0 defeat. He’s came back from that defeat and been one of the premier pitchers in the Ohio Valley this spring.

The Purple’s junior righty owns a 6-2 record with a miniscule 0.97 earned run average. Quite simply, Bassa has been dominant, especially in the tournament. He’s pitched back-to-back shutouts against Barnesville and Garaway, fanning eight in each game. For the season, he’s struck out 67, while allowing just nine walks. Opposing lineups are hitting just .164 against him.

“Anytime he’s on the mound, we feel like we have a shot,” Reasbeck said. “He threw four scoreless against them last year. I like handing him the ball and just going to sit down in the dugout and watching. Thing about Austin is he doesn’t get rattled. He just pitches.”

Successfully dealing with the top portion of the Hawks’ order will be critical for the Riders. Hiland’s top three hitters — Chris Kline, Tyson Gingerich and Ryan Hershberger — all bat better than .400. Gingerich leads the way at a .424 clip.

“We faced Bassa last year (in the district) and only had four hits, so we expect a good, challenging game,” Gibson offered. “Records aren’t important at this time of the year. It’s a one-game season.”

Gibson was non-committal to his starter for Thursday. He said he and his staff would finalize it after today’s practice. In the mix for the job are Mitch Massaro, Braden Mast and Brian Yoder, who will serve as the catcher if he’s not on the mound.