Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar is facing a major challenge to start out the State A Amateur baseball playoffs this weekend, but the team is ready for the challenge. The local squad will face the Harrisburg Woodies, 21-1 on the season, at 5 p.m. Saturday at Fossum Field.

“I think we’ve got a really good chance to do some good things at the state tournament. Obviously, we got a tough matchup game one, but our lineup does well against I think just about any style, any velo on the mound,” said Circus manager Evan Brandt. “I think we’ll have to pitch really well to win this thing, but first weekend, we gotta win one game to move on. We got two chances at that.”

The double-elimination tourney kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday. The tournament then moves to Brandon the following weekend.

Although the Aberdeen and Harrisburg have yet to see each other this year, Circus does have some film on its opponent.

“We have not seen any of their guys, but they have some high-profile names on that roster that are easy to know what they’re gonna bring,” Brandt said. “They’re gonna pitch at an elite level. They’re gonna swing it well. They’re gonna know the game well.”

Even with going up against some top-notch pitching, Brandt feels confident in the youthfulness of his team in addition to the homefield advantage.

“I think the thing that plays for us is that we’re athletic. We’ve got some youth, we’ve got some guys that can run. Our offense is not a scared offense,” Brandt said. “We love to swing it. We play in every ballpark and that’s a really good thing. And then obviously having that homefield advantage, I think will do some things for us here.”

An opportunistic offense comes along with the young squad.

“I’ll call it a high-powered offense. We just have an athletic lineup. We’ve got guys that can swing it that are spread out in the lineup,” Brandt said. “We’ve also got guys that can run, that are also spread out in the lineup. I think when it comes through one through nine, as a defense, it’s hard to defend us.”

Brandt pointed out several key members to the Circus offense.

“Mike Babcock, our shortstop, just an absolute athlete. Really love what he’s been doing at the plate lately. He’s getting on base a ton here,” said Brandt. “Colton Cox. We gotta get Colton hot. Former Division I player. He’s really good at the plate. … I think if we can get him going in that lineup, he’s gonna be just devastating for some pitching staffs.”

While Babcock and Cox lead the team’s right-handed hitters, two other names stand out on the other side of the plate.

“WolfDon Thorson, a left-handed stick for us. … He’s got a complete offensive game. He can run it, he can steal. He does a lot of good things, he can leave the yard,” Brandt said. “Kris Kwak, former Division I player. Left-handed bat, I think he’s gonna be a key contributor to the middle of our lineup. He’s a run producer for us, so I think that’s gonna be huge, offensively.”

While those four players spark the offense, Circus also has some solid pitching.

“We’ve got a group of pitchers that have just done a fantastic job in my opinion. We’ll call out Chad (Ellingson) right away. Chad has been just a bulldog for us over the years,” said Brandt. “A newcomer this year that has been really a bright spot for us has been Tyler Clapp. He had a rough first outing of the year, but after that he has settled in, and he has done a fantastic job on the mound for us. We’ve got a lot of guys that can throw it.”

There will be eight teams competing this weekend in two brackets at Fossum Field, with six of those squads advancing to Brandon the following week.

With Circus opening its postseason on Saturday, Brandt gave three words as the key to success.

“Don’t force action. I think if we let balls be balls at the plate, I think our offense is really good. We have to make pitchers come to us and we have to pick out good pitches to swing at,” Brandt said. “When we are in good hitter’s counts, we drive the baseball. We do really good things.”