Salina ? After three run-ruled games in the American Legion zone tournament, the Lawrence Raiders are one step closer to winning their fourth consecutive AAA state title.

But they know that they won’t be able to garner an 18-run margin of victory when they go up against some of the top teams in the state at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina this weekend.

“I told my kids that zone is kind of a good way to get the better teams in the state to the state tournament,” said Raiders coach Troy Wingert, whose squad will face the host team from Salina at 8 tonight. “Nothing against the other teams in zone, but they probably wouldn’t excel at state. Obviously, we’ll get to see some of the best teams around. Emporia and Manhattan are a couple of teams that we’ve seen this summer, and we’re just expecting even greater competition.”

Wingert threw some state-tested competition at his squad Wednesday when the Raiders scrimmaged against some of the program’s alumni.

“I was kind of surprised – those older guys can still compete,” Wingert said.

The Raiders’ skipper has decided to tweak his normal game plan for tournament play, going with Scott Heitshusen to pitch in the opening round – which is normally Travis Blankenship’s responsibility.

“Heitshusen has demonstrated throughout this summer that he can pitch early in a tournament and come back later,” Wingert said. “Blankenship throws five, six, seven innings and his arm doesn’t allow him to bounce back that quick. He hasn’t done anything wrong to move out of that spot; we’re just utilizing our pitchers. If we have to play on Tuesday, Scott can bounce back easier than the rest of our guys.”

And it’s that type of decision-making that has Wingert hoping he can continue the Raiders’ run of state titles in his first year as coach.

“Winning a fourth title was obviously a big goal for us early on, but as for pressure – from my standpoint – there is none,” Wingert said. “All I do is fill out the lineup card, give some signals and let them play.”

In addition to his work on the mound, Wingert knows he’s going to need Heitshusen’s power at the plate – which has been missing as of late – to go with his muscle on the mound.

“He didn’t have his best plate appearances over the last three or four games, and he’d tell you that himself,” Wingert said of Heitshusen. “We just need everybody else to stay constant, and he needs to turn it on like all of us in the dugout know he can.”