Head baseball coach John Meyer and his Mustangs (18-7) head into Friday’s first round of Districts against Washington (8-15) after a rocky end to the regular season.

It seemed  like during the last ten games every one or two W’s was closely followed by a disappointing or surprising tally in the loss column.

Despite the team’s recent losses to District leaders Eureka and Parkway South, Meyer is still hopeful about the upcoming playoffs.

“I’m always excited for the postseason,” he said. “There’s always that question of, does this team want to play together and have one more pitch together, one more inning together, play one more game together, which, if you give that a chance, it has a way of really manifesting something bigger than the team.”

As for leadership, Meyer said the pitching of seniors Brennan Barnes and Sean McCracken has really paved the way for the team’s defense.

“Obviously our players like to play behind them and play for them,” he said.  “Our record with those two on the mound has had an alarming rate of success. I think that’s going to carry through into the postseason.”

Meyer added that several seniors including RJ Drury, Jack Matzen, and Daniel Covert have done well leading in their own way; some vocal, others through their performance.

McCracken (4-0) who, through seven starts boasts a 1.588 ERA and 43 strikeouts is the projected starter for Friday’s game against Washington (8-15). After two or three innings, Meyer plans on bringing in Colin Huguelet, junior, to close out the game.

McCracken threw a five-hit, complete-game shutout his last time on the mound on Tuesday, May 5 against Fox. He also threw a personal season-high 12 strikeouts.

If the Mustangs make it past the Blue Jays, Barnes (7-1 W-L, 1.081 ERA, 19 Ks) will likely be the starter with Evan Stoll, junior, ready to close.

“It’s really not about physical skills and talents,” Meyer concluded. “It’s about chemistry and a psychological thing that I really hope the kids catch onto because we’ve had a really good year and in the end you just want it to be meaningful to the players and memorable for the seniors and that’s what we’re always trying to shoot for.”