[4/19/03]Randy Wright knew the attack was coming, but didn’t know when, or from where.

His opponent quietly lurked in the shadows behind him, stalking the oblivious coach as he went about his business. Then when the time was right and Wright was at his most vulnerable, they struck, leaving the Porters Chapel Academy coach defenseless and drenched.

“They tricked me. I wasn’t thinking that quick. I figured they’d probably try to do it, but I didn’t know they were going to do it that quick on me. They got me good,” Wright said with a laugh, the back of his shirt soaked from the contents of the water cooler his players had dumped on him moments after the Eagles clinched the Conference 5-A championship with an 11-0 win over Tallulah Academy.

“Now I’m all wet. I was going to go out there and watch Vicksburg play, but I ain’t got no more clothes to put on. I’m going to have to go out there wet,” Wright said.

That his players were able to douse Wright so easily came as a surprise. After all, the cooler showers are becoming a bit of a tradition at PCA.

It’s the third straight conference championship for the Eagles (22-2, 13-0), who have won 21 straight conference games. The streak dates back more than two years, to April 16, 2001, when PCA lost to Franklin 8-7 in its final conference game of the season.

“22-2, 13-0 in this district. District champions back-to-back-to-back, it feels great,” Wright said.

PCA handled Tallulah (6-11, 4-10) easily in their first meeting, and had little trouble completing the season sweep on Friday.

Josh Rush went 2-for-2 with a homer, double, and three RBIs, Michael Shinn was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Aaron Curry and Ryan Hoben each had run-scoring singles. Humphrey Barlow added an RBI double as every PCA starter had at least one hit.

Andrew Embry scattered three hits and struck out 12 in a five-inning complete game, and also helped his own cause with a solo homer in the first inning.

“I wasn’t ever worried about them hitting him today. He was on today. He had good velocity on the ball, he was hitting his spots, and I was never concerned today,” Wright said of Embry’s performance.

Embry started things off for the Eagles with his one-out homer in the bottom of the first, a laser beam that traveled over the center field fence.

After Chase Towne grounded out, Rush lifted a fly ball to right that seemed to carry forever and eventually made its way over the high wall for a 2-0 lead.

The Eagles added three more runs in the second inning to increase the lead to 5-0, and the outcome of the game was never in doubt.

Tallulah had two runners on base in each of the first three innings, but none of them advanced past second base.

“When we don’t score in the first couple innings, that’s when we make errors in the field. When we get an early lead, everybody’s relaxed … When we score runs in the first couple innings, that’s when we play our best,” Rush said.

Preston Walker replaced Tallulah starter William Weeks in the bottom of the fourth, and PCA promptly put the game away.

After Embry drew a leadoff walk, the next three batters doubled and Ryan Hoben singled to stretch the lead to 9-0. PCA went on to send 11 batters to the plate and score six runs in the inning, then watched as Embry retired the Trojans in order in the fifth to end the game by the mercy rule.

During Tallulah’s final at-bat, PCA’s reserves carefully took the water cooler off a dugout wall and moved it behind Wright’s chair on the other end of the dugout.

When Embry struck out Walker to end the game, Wright hopped out of his chair and took three steps toward the field. By the time he reached the foul line, it was over. The water and ice cubes rolled off his back, and his players had claimed another victory.

As long as the Eagles keep winning, though, it’s one game that Wright will be happy to play.

“It’s a great feeling. I think it’s an outstanding accomplishment for the program,” Wright said. “That’s absolute dominance. I mean, 8-0 last year, 10-0 or whatever it was, and now 13-0 this year. We haven’t lost a conference game in two years now.”