SPANISH FORT, Alabama – Like the saying: “Don’t mess with Texas,” Lone Star native and first-year head baseball coach Brent Boyd of Spanish Fort High believes in not messing with success either.

“I inherited a great program,” he said. “After being a part of it for a year last season and getting the opportunity to take over this year, I know better than to fix what’s not broken.”

Spanish Fort's Toros are after their fourth consecutive state championship which begins Friday at Paterson Field in Montgomery with Hartselle’s nine in the way at 4 p.m. Boyd took over from SFHS program founder Tommy Walker who led the team to 5A titles the last three years, the first one over Hartselle.

“I think this team, this group of players just expects to win,” Boyd said. “Whether it’s in the state final or a semifinal or any game at all. They just have the attitude that they can win. So it’s hard to tinker with when things are going well. But, like early in the season, when we lost to Faith, we made a few little changes, nothing drastic, and we got better and better. Like I said, these kids just expect it of themselves. I just try to put them in the right place at the right time and they do the rest.

“Now they are in a position to win it again and they earned it. Pitching and defense will win championships and all of the teams we play this time of year are going to have that solid pitching and defense. Hartselle is no exception. Very similar to Russell County in that, (Players) one through nine, they can beat you. So we need to be ready, be focused on every pitch, every play, concentrate, not let up. I think our guys are ready and able to do that. They have great pitching, but we feel like we have great pitching, too.”

The No. 1-ranked Toros (39-8) defeated Russell County (43-8) in three games in the semifinals after dropping the first game last weekend at SFHS. Hartselle’s Tigers (42-14-0, Ranked No. 6) swept Pinson Valley (33-13-0) in their semifinal series 7-2, 10-0 on Saturday at HHS.

“I knew we would not be the same team as last year,” Boyd said. “You never are at this level. I am one of those who think that by now, you’re either ready or you’re not. There’s not a whole lot more to do and not much time to do it anyway as far as to improve on. The main thing is to be aggressive but not reckless. One of the great things about these guys is how much they love the game. They are in love with baseball like I am and our whole coaching staff is — well, we’re all fans. We love every aspect of this sport and I think that helps with performance, too. But we are going to get ready for Hartselle like any other team. We have some ideas about them and I’m sure they have some about us. We’ll see. I’m anxious to see.”

The two 5A finalists met in the Hoover tournament about a month ago. The Tigers won in a preliminary round, but the Toros battled back to meet Hartselle in the championship and won the Buccaneer Classic title game.

"Yes, we've won three in a row, but this is a totally new team,” Boyd added about the state-title streak. “We have only four guys that actually played on the team last year. This is a totally different team. Everybody's got everybody coming back, all this stuff. It's not that way. These guys had to learn how to win, and they did that all year. You have to put them in some pressure spots. And until they got in those spots, you didn't know how they were going to react. And, obviously, they've reacted for the good."

“But I really have to thank these great assistant coaches I have,” Boyd said. “They really get the kids ready and that lets me manage before and during the games. I can’t say enough about these guys, Carlton Paris (Pitching coach), Matt Dykema (Catchers coach), Mark Henderson (Hitting and outfield instruction) and Brady Thrower (Strength and conditioning). They mesh well together and all have a great feel for what can be successful, I always listen to their opinion and it always means a lot to me.”

After the Russell County series, Boyd said something about listening to other coaches when he quoted something former Daphne and Faith head coach Lloyd Skoda had once said that put what coaching pressure is really like in perspective.

“I read somewhere coach Skoda said that, ‘The wins are a relief, but the losses are the ones you think about.’ And it's true. It's true here. It's true everywhere. You stress being perfect. I want us to be perfect. I want this team to be perfect. When you're near perfect, you'll have success. When you're not perfect, you have to constantly work to get there. There's always a goal, always a reason to get better.”

Game two is set for Riverwalk Stadium just down the road from Paterson Field Saturday at 10 a.m.

A third game, if necessary Saturday, is set for 1 p.m., at Riverwalk.

CLASS 5A BASEBALL FINALS INFO: Spanish Fort (38-7) vs. Hartselle (40-14). Game 1: Friday, 4 p.m., Paterson Field (Montgomery). Game 2, 3: Saturday, 10 a.m., 1 p.m. (if necessary), Riverwalk Stadium (Montgomery). Live stream: http://www.playonsports.com/channels/alabama. Tickets: $10 per day, available at the gate