In the first round of regional playoffs, on Wednesday, April 29, baseball beat Mandarin, 5-2, with junior Joe Sheridan leading the way with 10 strikeouts.

After giving up a second inning home run to Mandarin’s Kyle Jenkins, a Lincoln Memorial University commit, Sheridan was able to refocus and come through for the team.

“We are getting hot at the right time,” Sheridan said. “We can beat any team as long as we play one pitch at a time.”

After a tight start at 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, second baseman Casey Crawford drove in outfielder Bryan Ellis to give the team some breathing room. They finished the inning after Crawford ran in bringing the score to 5-2. Sheridan then came up with two more scoreless innings and closer Travis Hosterman finished the seventh inning with three consecutive strikeouts.

They also had contributions  from their seniors as outfielder Frank Cotugno and first baseman Aaron Takacs had one RBI, while shortstop Ryan Mountcastle went 2-3 with two RBIs.

“I thought we got some gritty performances from some of our older kids,” head coach Jered Goodwin said. “They have very good relationships with each other and they are starting to believe in their selves and more importantly the people next to them.”

Although the date of their next game is still to be determined, the team will play the winner of Flagler against University Orange for the regional semifinals.

“We are going to prepare like we would for any opponent, make sure our eyes stay straight, and prepare like we are playing the best in the state because every game you could go home,” Goodwin said.