After a quick top of the first inning against Lake Nona thanks to senior pitcher Travis Hosterman, leadoff hitter Brian Ellis was up to bat. Only a couple pitches later, Ellis got a strong hold of the ball and sent it just over the wall for an early 1-0 lead.

After much of the same, sound pitching and offensive firepower, the baseball team defeated Lake Nona High on Tuesday, May 4 at home with a final score of 7-0 to advance to the regional finals.

For most of the game the defense controlled the score, led by Hosterman on the mound, but first baseman Britt Crawford and outfielder Riley Greene made an impact. The score was 1-0 until the third inning and 2-0 until the sixth. Hosterman had eight strikeouts as the team completed a playoff shutout.

In the sixth inning the team scored five runs including RBIs from both senior Brian Kowalski and junior Cameron Beams.

“I can’t speak for anyone else but I was having fun,” coach Jared Goodwin said. “We had to battle through some adversity early but I really think that for this team they have battled through adversity all year pretty well.”

Besides the fun of leading 7-0, by the last inning, the pressure was now off.

“It is much more relaxing. As a pitcher you don’t really worry about something like a base hit because you know your team has your back,” Hosterman said.

The team’s next game will be Tuesday, May 10 at Seminole Ridge High School which will decide the winner of the region and determine who gets a bid to the final four.

“The mindset going into this next game is the same as the preseason and early February. Nothing changes because it’s the playoffs and nothing changes because of the opponent,” Goodwin said. “If we take care of the baseball side of things, we can play Hagerty brand baseball.”