By CONOR NICHOLL cnicholl@dailynews.net

Mike Jenner in his second stint as the Hays Legion head coach. The first stint was much different in terms of coaching style and personality.

"When I coached before, I used to throw stuff, real intense and about the only thing that it was real good was that it got my blood pressure up and finally, they know what they are doing and just go let them play," Jenner said.

That play loose, let them attitude has helped the 2008 Senior Legion program reach the 2008 Class AAA State tournament after they won Zone 7 last week in Hays. In three games, the club pounded out 51 runs and will enter state with a 28-14 record. They will have its first round game against Andover today at 5 p.m in Pittsburg. Kelton Rule will start Game 1.

"I know Blue Valley Northwest is good," Jenner said of the bracket. "We played them twice and split with them this year.

Lawrence I know is a real good ballclub and from what I have heard Pittsburg is pretty decent. I honestly think that if we play our game and play loose and focused like we have the last couple of weeks, we have a real good shot at winning it."

It's that hitting that carried the seniors through the last stretch of the postseason and will be the main factor on how far the Legion will go at state.

"Oh yeah, we have hit the ball all summer well and not the whole team, but just the last two and a half weeks is when everybody has started to put it together," Jenner said. "Beginning of the summer it was Kelton (Rule) and Sam (Rohleder), they kind of carried us for awhile.

Austin (Klaus) struggled a little bit, (Travis) Budke was hitting it pretty decent. Now Austin is getting it back, (Matt) Malott is getting it back -- he struggled early in the summer."

The multi-pronged attack, featuring several players who earned all-conference honors at Hays High School and Thomas More Prep-Marian in the spring. Tom Rohleder paces the Legion with a .489 average, the second-highest single season mark in Senior Legion history behind Jeff Bieker's .510 average in 2000. Rule is second at .396, while Malott ranks third at .372 and Sam Rohleder checks in at .341. Matt Maskus, who didn't play last year, is at .426 is limited at-bats.

"We can hit it," Rule said.

"A lot of it is going up and seeing it and hitting it," Jenner added. "At the beginning of the summer, a lot of these guys were thinking too much. Just relax, go up see it and hit it. Don't worry about if there is anybody on base, just go hit the ball."

In the batting cages, Jenner has focused on making suggestions -- rather than fulll-blown changes. It's worked for Malott and Budke (.287 average), who have made minor changes that have helped Hays. Malott, along with Sam Rohleder, had an on-base percentage over .700 in zone play.

"Coach (Michae) Billinger, that last game in zone when he hit the ball so well, he told him, just raise your hands a little bit and he did and he started hitting the ball," Jenner said. "Most of the time with your hitting, all it takes is something real little. I think Malott has listened to me a little bit."

And the players have adopted to Jenner's low-key personality, a change that produced a nine-win uptick from 2007, a trip to the state tournament -- and possibly more this weekend.

"They know how to play the game," Jenner said of his squad. "Every now and then, they will lose focus or something and then I will get on them a little bit, but really it doesn't take a whole lot with these guys and that is usually the first time I tell them before they hit the field, play loose, but stay focused and it has worked so far."