Chilton County’s baseball team this week will play in the semifinal round of the Class 5A state playoffs for the first time in 20 years.

Yet coach Josey Shannon said after the past two series–wins over Brookwood and Briarwood–that his Tigers might not be as good as the teams they eliminated. So, what makes them successful?

CCHS has won because it possesses intangibles, Shannon thinks. Intangibles are not easily defined–according to a dictionary, intangible means “unable to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence”–but they are easily observed.

In essence, a team with intangibles finds a way to win.

Those who witnessed the Tigers blow a 5-2 lead with only one out to go in Game 1 against Briarwood, come back to win that game and then win Game 3 after a flat performance in the second game know the team knows how to win.

Shannon has seen it all season long.

“They punched us, and then we had the chance to punch them back,” Shannon said. “We didn’t lay down, and that’s been our M.O. all year long.

“We don’t dominate anybody. You can’t really enjoy the game because you’re always trying to find a way to win it.”

Shannon thinks confidence goes a long way toward the team’s approach. They’ve gained confidence from all the hours of hard work put in on the practice field, but the confidence also comes from hours of mental preparation.

Buddy Gray, a local insurance agent who has a side business as a motivational speaker, spoke to the Tigers once a week this season.

“He coached a couple of years at Jemison, was an assistant at Utah State and is a cancer survivor,” Shannon said. “He really takes a load off me. He is an absolute professional at it.”

After hearing Gray on Monday, the Tigers ran about 3 miles before actual practice began. Shannon said he thinks that sort of nose-to-the-grindstone approach is serving his team well in later rounds of the playoffs.

“We’re fatigued going into practice, but they’ve got to learn to focus and fight through that,” he said. “It’s about mental toughness. I think our guys are prepared for those third games.”

Another aspect of the team’s intangibles is their relationship with each other, including the coaches.

“What we talk about is not building championships but building relationships,” Shannon said. “We love each other; we care about each other. I don’t know about games, but I can leave here and say I’ve won more relationships that anybody in the state.”

Chilton’s bond will be put to the test again Friday when they visit Spanish Fort, the two-time defending state champion.

“Last year, they were great individually,” Shannon said about the Toros (33-8). “They had four or five [Division I college] players on the roster. This year, they’re great as a team. They’re scrappy, confident–a lot like we are.”

The series will mark the first time this postseason the Tigers (35-7) have gone on the road.

In the previous rounds, there have been some large, boisterous crowds at Jack Hayes Field in Clanton.

“That has helped us through some tough times,” Shannon said. “I appreciate all the support of the community. “And it hasn’t been just Clanton people. There have been people from Verbena, Thorsby, Jemison and Maplesville. I feel like everybody in the community respects one another’s program and wants everybody to be successful.”

Shannon said people in the county can take pride in what the team has accomplished. That’s another part of the intangibles.

“Clanton hasn’t had much to be overly proud of the past 15-20 years,” he said. “It’s not a knock; you can just tell that everybody is hungry. Our kids just keep believing that good things are going to happen to people that work hard.”

The first two games of the series will be played at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Friday. A third game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday if necessary.