A year ago, El Dorado won the Magnolia Ball-N in the Break Tournament in dominant fashion, winning four games by a 35-3 margin.
On Thursday morning, the Wildcats will start their quest for a second straight title against Camden Fairview, hoping to avenge a loss from earlier in the season.
Game time is set for 9 a.m.
In their first encounter, the Cardinals held off the Wildcats for an 8-7 win with Payton Byrd allowing five hits and two runs along with a walk and nine strikeouts in six innings of work to pick up the win.
“They had a guy move in, and that’s who we faced when they beat us in the first week of the season,” said El Dorado coach Cannon Lester. “I’m sure we’ll see him again in the first round, so we kind of know what we’re getting into. I think if we put some pressure on defensively, we’ll be OK. They were tough, and they battled and they were really good with him on the mound. I think momentum is that day’s starting pitcher, so with him on the mound, it will be a tough test after that layoff.”
The game is the first in a week for the Wildcats, who are off to a 3-4 start.
“The good thing about our team right now is I think we’ve gotten to see a lot of what we need to work on,” Lester said.
“We’ve had some good and we’ve had some bad, but for the most part, the thing that I think every team is worried about is their pitching, and for the most part, I think our pitching has been really good. That excites me. I think when we get a little more consistent AB’s (at-bats) here within the next couple of weeks, hopefully our offense will come along with it.”
Lester has also been pleased with how his underclassmen and newcomers have played thus far.
“For the most part, the young guys and even the new guys that are new to starting on varsity, they’ve done really well,” Lester said.
“I’ll be honest, for the most part, they’ve probably carried our team. I’ve been very pleased with those young guys and even some of those older guys that hadn’t started yet. They’ve done really well.”
Senior Shaun York has gotten off to a hot start, registering five multi-hit games while collecting at least one hit in each of El Dorado’s seven games.
Overall, York is hitting .591 with eight runs scored, four RBIs and has struck out only two times in 26 plate appearances.
“From Game One, Shaun has probably been our best player overall defensively and offensively,” Lester said.
“He had a really good defensive game at UCA (Central Arkansas) against Greenbrier, and I think that propelled him offensively as well. I had him hitting towards the bottom of the lineup at the beginning, and he’s just riding the hot hand right now.
“He trusts his approach, and he doesn’t try to do too much up there. He’s got really good hand-eye coordination. He’s done well.”
Should the Wildcats top the Cardinals, they would play Warren at 1:30 p.m. with the winner moving on to Friday’s semifinals against the winner of Thursday’s game between Parkers Chapel and Hot Springs Lakeside.
Regardless of their outcome for this weekend, Lester said playing in the tournament will help his team going forward.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Lester said. “I think for the most part, everybody is probably going to throw their No. 1’s and 2’s that first or even second day, so it’s kind of a state tournament-type feel. You go Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and with the way it’s set up now, you’ve got to have depth on the mound, so it will really get to test your depth.
“Also, you’ll get to play some teams that for the most part that you don’t get to play very much, so that will be good. Since I’ve been there, and this is my fourth year in a row, this is probably the deepest field that’s probably been in there from top to bottom.”
If there is one aspect of his team Lester wants to see improve this weekend, it’s finishing games.
“I think it’s just playing seven innings or if we go two hours, playing a full two hours,” Lester said.
“We’ve put together a lot of good three, four, five-inning games, but I think the games that we’ve lost, we just didn’t quite finish the seven-inning game, so just finishing, keeping that focus, trying not to do too much and just taking what the game gives you.”