Practice at Bobby Strenfel Field on Wednesday looked and felt like mid-March with players wearing long sleeves and doing fundamental drills.
But it's late May and a night earlier the stands were packed to witness Poplar Bluff's first playoff win in program history.
"We're deep in the season now and trying to make a state run --we're three games away --and working on the things that we worked on in the first week," Mules coach Steven Edwards said. "The boys are all in and staying true to the plan."
Poplar Bluff's seniors will graduate Thursday night and add to their legacy the following afternoon on a field in Kirkwood, Missouri.
The Mules (21-5) will face third-ranked Vianney (30-6) at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the MSHSAA Class 5 quarterfinal.
"We're just excited about the opportunity," Edwards said.
March seems like a long time ago and a completely different season for the Mules.
Following a 5-0 loss to state-ranked Lee's Summit West, the Mules fell to 1-4 to start the season. It ended a streak of 59 games in which Poplar Bluff had scored dating back to the 2014 playoff loss to Vianney.
A rainout, followed by eight days of practice gave the Mules a chance to reset the season. They've gone 20-1 since March fell off the calendar, winning a conference and district title then knocking out second-ranked Rockwood Summit 2-1 to open the state playoffs Tuesday.
The Golden Griffins are back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 after they handed Poplar Bluff an 8-0 loss and finished fourth at state.
Like the Mules, Vianney had to get past a conference-rival to win District 4, beating SLUH 5-1, before winning a tight playoff Tuesday. Marquette scored a run in the sixth and seventh to rally and force extra innings before junior Anthony Altobella's RBI single in the eighth lifted Vianney to a 3-2 win.
Like the Mules, Vianney features a deep rotation. Right-hander Luke Mann, who also started the district final, will not be available due to the new pitch-limit rule after starting Tuesday.
Ronin Rice is the only pitcher not available for the Mules.
"They've got three or four guys like we have," Edwards said.
Noah Niznik, a junior, is the top candidate to start for Vianney. The lefty is 6-1 with a 1.17 earned-run average in nine starts with 54 strikeouts to eight walks in 48 innings. Tommy Kraus (4-1, 1.62 ERA), Brendan May (6-1, 1.99), Mitchell O'Dekirk (4-1, 1.64) and Caleb Buehrle (1-0, 1.17) have also started games this season with Mann (8-1, 0.80).
Opponents have averaged 1.8 runs per game this season against the Griffins while during a current 11-game win streak they've outscored opponents 91-19.
Vianney is hitting .332 as a team this season led by junior Andrew Keck's 48 hits for a .457 average. Mann, the cleanup hitter who hit a homer Tuesday, has a team-high seven home runs and 31 RBIs while hitting .337 with Altobella's 28 RBIs and three homers second on the team.
Keck, a catcher, scored the winning run Tuesday and is 5 for 11 with three RBIs during three postseason games.
"They're a power-hitting team from everything we got on them," Edwards said.
The Mules have given up 2.9 runs per game and are 11-1 when holding opponents to two runs or less. Poplar Bluff pitchers have given up just 65 walks in 172 innings, or 2.5 per game, while the defense has averaged 1.4 errors per game.
Edwards said the key has been making the routine plays.
"When you make the spectacular plays, yeah, it's amazing and it's fun to see it," Edwards said. "But if you make all the routine plays and do what you're suppose to do, nine times out of 10 you're going to come out ahead in the game."
Michael Anagnostopoulos (7 for 10) and Tyson Cox (5 for 10) have been Poplar Bluff's hottest hitters during the postseason but the rest of the lineup has multiple hits or walks in the three games and eight Mules have driven in at least one run.
Poplar Bluff, which is hitting .337, is putting the ball in play having struck out just once every 7.3 plate appearance. Vianney is slightly better, having struck out once every 10.8 plate appearance.
The teams have only two common opponents. Vianney beat Jackson 7-0 and lost to Summit 4-2 but both of those games were early in the season.
Both teams are also led by their upperclassmen with Vianney featuring six seniors. Poplar Bluff's nine seniors have played a combined 419 career varsity games and the Mules are 81-20-1 over the past four years.
And like the Mules, Vianney has been successful at home with an 11-1 record.
"We appreciate the support (fans) gave us all last night and all year," Edwards said. "It's amazing to see so many people come out to a baseball game. The coaches and I were talking, it was like being at a basketball game it was so loud."
Admission is $7.
The winner advances to play in the MSHSAA semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday, June 2 at Car Shield Field in O'Fallon, Missouri with the championship and third-place games the following day.