By Richard Hernandez

After a less than stellar start to the season, the Mavs have turned their season around and now they find themselves in the second round of playoffs. With a three-game series victory under their belt, the Mavs look on to play area favorite O’Connor in another best of three series.

“It’s second round; it’s do or die. O’Connor has a pitcher that pitches 91 mph, but we’ll be able to hit them,” senior Travis Dominguez said.

For the first time since the 1998 season the Mavs baseball team has fought their way out of the first round and now find themselves fighting O’Connor in a second round battle.

“I’m  just so proud of the seniors,” head coach Jake Raley said. “It’s great to leave a legacy behind, and it’s been along time since we’ve practiced and played into May.”

Entering the first round, the baseball team had little playoff experience, but the team hopes to go into the second round using first round experiences to advance.

“This is the first time that a majority of our players have had this experience,” Raley said. “I think we’re going to come out and play a lot better against O’Connor; we have the experience now.”

Although the team is moving on in the playoffs, players still feel the nerves that come with each of the games.

“I’m super excited and super nervous. I think the excitement out-weighs the nerves, but there’s a good mixture of both,” Dominguez added. “I think we’re going to come out on top, I most definitely think that.

The series is set to start tonight May 11 at 5:00 at Blossom, and the team feels confident of their chances at the moment.

“I know they’re a quality team we are going to have to play harder if we are still expecting to win a game,” Raley added. “I think it’s just going to come down to confidence. We went out to beat teams and thats a big part of baseball and now the team expects to win.”