Returning to district play after a successful weekend in Kentucky, the DHS Trojan baseball team continued to build momentum for the District 13 tournament slated to begin May, 1 by thumping Gibson County, 16-3.

The Trojans rode the right arm of senior Matt Chandler and two huge innings offensively to come away with the victory, pushing the overall record to 19-9, with a district record of 5-3.

Dyersburg head coach Tom Mathis was pleased with Chandler, the offense, and the defense following the contest.

"Matt went out there and did his job tonight by getting a lot of soft ground balls and some easy fly outs. Offensively we turned it up a notch after one time through the lineup and the defense played well until the final inning. Overall, I was pleased with the effort the guys played with tonight," said Mathis.

There was plenty to be happy about for a number of Trojans throughout the contest, starting in the third inning with the Trojans holding a slim 1-0 advantage after Michael Brown scored in the first on an RBI-single from teammate Les Smith.

From the leadoff spot, Brown reached second on a two-base error in center before Smith pushed him across home plate for the second time of the game, but not on a single. The University of Louisiana-Lafayette signee absolutely crushed a 3-1 offering from Pioneer Matt Wilson over the wall in deep right field for a 3-0 lead, more than enough than the strike-throwing Chandler would need.

Dyersburg added an additional run in the inning when Adam Smith a sac fly to left to score Tyler Childress to lead 4-0 after three innings of play.

"The third inning gave us a little comfort zone and I thought after the first time through the lineup we really attacked the baseball," added Mathis.

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After Chandler made quick work of the Pioneers in the top of the fourth, the Trojans were about to blow the game wide-open in their half of the inning, scoring 12 runs as 17 batters made an appearance at the dish to take a commanding 16-0 lead.

The inning began with catcher Jesse McNeil leaving the park with a solo shot over the wall in left field, and ended 11 runs later with Shaw Dickerson enjoying an RBI-double to deep center as the Trojans were on cruise control, leading 16-0.

With Chandler on autopilot and a sound defense behind him, Dyersburg cruised along with Chandler firing a shutout until the top of the fifth when the Pioneers capitalized off a miscue, avoiding the shutout with three runs in the inning.

"We are really starting to do a good job of putting the ball in play with runners in scoring position. We did that tonight and it's reflected on the scoreboard," said Mathis.

With the regular season coming to an end and the District 13 tournament slated to begin on May 1, Mathis believes his squad is beginning to hit its stride at the right time.

"We've talked about it and what we have to do is continue to go out every game and take care of our business. We aren't worried what anybody else in the district is doing right now. If we do the things we are capable of doing, we will be fine," he added.

The Trojans will look to sweep the Pioneers tonight in Dyer. Game time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.