Baseball is shifting into playoff mode as they head to Smothernman Field to take on the Frisco Raccoons Thursday at 7:30 p.m in the first matchup of a best-of-three series as the Redhawks try to cage their bi-district opponent.

“They have a good squad over there, but we can take this series if we can play good, clean, and smart baseball,” head coach Scott McGarrh said. “We played [Frisco] earlier this year and unfortunately lost, but we were a different team back then and the kids have grown and gotten better since then, so I believe they’re ready for whatever is in store this series.”

It’s been the same mindset and gameplan for the team since day one, and they aren’t looking to stray from it despite what’s on the line.

“We have to continue to follow the game plan that we’ve been getting at since the start of the season,” junior Blake Ritchie said. “If we can keep their hitters off base and avoid defensive mistakes, we can give our hitters enough opportunities to barrel some home for us and look to capitalize on their mistakes.”

As the Redhawks lean towards the younger side this year, McGarrh believes it’ll be more helpful than detrimental for their playoff campaign.

“They don’t know what they don’t know, so they can just go out there and play like they have been all season,” McGarrh said. “There’s not as much pressure on a young team like this compared to a team of vets, that idea of, we’ve been doing well in the past so we need to continue to do well, there’s none of that, which gets rid of unnecessary pressure and lets them perform.”