Seven pitchers. One job. The person standing on the mound facing down the batter is the most integral part of the game. For the varsity baseball team, that involves seven veteran pitchers.

“I like being a pitcher because you control the game,” junior Austin Jacobs said. “The game is really in your hands and I love the feeling of knowing that the pressure is on you to win.”

The team puts their trust in the pitchers to help win the game. The way the team plays reflects on the starting pitcher’s success on the mound and he’s responsible for knowing exactly what pitches to throw and when to throw them.

“My favorite pitch and the most difficult to throw is my cutter,” Jacobs said. “It moves away from the batter. I throw this pitch often in order to fool the batter and it is difficult to throw it far enough inside to be effective without hitting him.”

This season for the Raiders was definitely eye opening and surprising. During their first series, Dripping Springs was the first to show the team that district play was the real deal.

“Dripping Springs was the hardest team to beat,” junior Tyler Dowden said. “They have some talent of their own. But we’ve realized that we are the ones to win our games and blow others away with our talent.”

The Raiders ended district 3-9 and 7-19-1 overall. Despite the losses, the team still holds up hope for the next season.

“I think the biggest obstacles this season were ourselves,” Dowden said. “We have the ability to control the game’s outcome, and I believe we have the potential to be the best.”

Varsity Baseball District
March 6 Dripping Springs  7-2 L
March 7 Dripping Springs  3-0 L
March 10 Leander           3-2 L
March 13 Leander           10-5 L
March 18 Marble Falls      10-9 W
March 21 Marble Falls      5-1 L
March 25 Cedar Park        6-5 L
March 28 Cedar Park        5-4 L
April 8 Vandegrift        13-1 W
April 11 Vandegrift        9-8 L
April 15  Vista Ridge      11-8 W
April 17  Vista Ridge      11-0 L