Jim Cowlishaw

The team jumps in celebration during a game in the series against Medina Valley High School. The win moved them on to the Regional Quarterfinals to play Rouse on May 16 and 17, with a third game Saturday if necessary. “Obviously the third round curse has been around for a couple of years now,” freshman Hudson Cuevas said. “Hopefully we change that this year and beat them. We just need to get it out of our head that it’s a curse and hopefully make it to the fourth round.” Photo Courtesy of Jim Cowlishaw

Cheers of celebration echo from the dugout as the sevent inning comes to an end and the team secures the win in the second round of playoffs. Their success is a win, but now their determination to break the third round curse sets in. 

The team won the series against Medina Valley last week 2-0, sending them to the Regional Quarterfinals against the Rouse Raiders tomorrow at 7 p.m. The game will be held at Lago Vista and will determine who moves onto the fourth round of playoffs.

“I feel really well [going into this round] we’re playing some of the best baseball we have played all year right now,” freshman third baseman Hudson Cuevas said. “We’ve been preparing the same as we have all year, nothing has changed because everything has worked through the whole year. Just the intensity is cranking up since it is the playoffs..”

The team has lost to Rouse in the third round at Concordia the past two years. While they did beat them in the district play twice, the player’s are still putting in their focus for the playoffs. 

“It’s the [seniors] last year so it’s a different mindset,” senior second baseman and pitcher Carson Reid said. “We know we can beat them. We need to look at the positive not really the past and kind of forget about the past because it’s a different team every year. After this round, we don’t have this pressure anymore. This is just a big bump, that’s it.”

In the district rounds, the team tied for first with Liberty Hill, marking the fourth year in a row they have won district. The team also beat San Antonio Pieper in the first round of the playoffs in a 2-0 series. 

“The team bond this year has been great, I love it,” Reid said. “Winning this round will really show who we are as a team because I don’t think there’s a team in this whole country that really comes together like we do.”

When asked about the wins against Rouse, senior right fielder Jake Cowlishaw, says he is looking forward to going into this round and getting to play them again. 

“You can’t go into a playoff game like this and not feel confident,” Cowlishaw said. “I feel pretty good [about this round] . I think as a team we’re all playing well together. Losing to them in the previous years is definitely on our minds but we want to change that.”