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This marks the third straight season of at least 26 wins for the Marshalltown High School baseball team. The Bobcats will finish with the program's best team ERA since the mid-80s, and the pitching staff's strikeout total is its highest ever.

It's important to know your place in history, and this year's state-bound Bobcat contingent does.

On Wednesday at Principal Park in Des Moines, Marshalltown will be making its 11th state tournament appearance. The Bobcats have historically made the most of their trips to the elite eight, having reached the championship game in eight of 10 previous trips.

Bobcat head coach Steve Hanson just hopes this year's group does not take its successes, nor those of its predecessors or future MHS clubs, for granted.

"I hope our guys value the accomplishment because we've had some dynamic kids and some tremendous baseball players go through our program who have never gotten this opportunity, who have done everything right but have not been able to get to the state tournament," Hanson said. "Examples of that would be the 1999 team that won 32 games led by Ben Deike, a big power-hitting first baseman, and another senior Jason Williams, a pesky little shortstop. That was a good group of seniors that won 32 games and got beat, and you just shake your head and wish that you could go back to those times."

Marshalltown reached the state championship game each of the following three seasons, finally bringing home the title in 2002. The Bobcats have gone back-to-back with this season's state berth, joining MHS squads from 1975-76, 1985-86 and the 2000-02 run with tourney trips in succession.

"We did think that we were pretty good and then in game one we got a reminder that we may not be as good as we though we were, and then as the season goes along it's going to be a battle," said Bobcat senior left fielder Allen Mann. "Maybe it's just meant to be that we're back at state with the way that we've won. The other day we were talking about when we were little and (Jeff) Clement and them went back-to-back-to-back and here we're back-to-back. It's just hard to believe that we're kind of doing what that whole group did, so hopefully we can keep that success going."

This year's Marshalltown contingent has been visited by Bobcats of the past. Jeff Clement came home during the Pacific Coast League's All-Star break in mid-July, while Mike and Jason Clement both met with the team on Saturday to offer their words of wisdom and remind the Bobcats of their place in history.

"I've gotten correnspondence from several guys, there's somewhat a fraternity of players and past players who pull for our guys," said Coach Hanson. "They pull for our guys because they understand the commitment, they understand the dedication, they understand what it takes to be there and they appreciate the fact that even though they maybe couldn't get there, these guys did.

"So I hope our guys realize and understand what a special thing it is and that they represent far more than themsevles. They represent all those guys who have played before them and any guys who will play after them, and they represent our community which last year was just outstanding in its support."

"It's a culmination of a lot of hard work that doesn't always happen that just is a really frail thing, a fragile thing that we're pleased to have the opportunity and now we have to go represent ourselves well against the number one team in the state."