The Mavs opened their district season on the road Tuesday night against Cedar Ridge. Last season was a bit disappointing for the Mavs, falling short of the playoffs, but the expectations for this year are high. The Mavs have work to do if they want to if they want to play in the postseason, specifically the offense, which is struggling.

The game opened with the Mavs on offense, but they couldn’t get together, going down on three straight hitters to end the first inning. The Raiders in their half of the inning got a baserunner on, who eventually came around to score after a series of errors by the Mavs, taking an early 1-0 lead. The rest of the game would be similar to the first inning. While McNeil didn’t make many errors, Cedar Ridge continued to hit the ball in the first few innings, getting five runs in the first four, a 5-0 lead, which the Mavs couldn’t overcome. The first McNeil hit came in the sixth inning, but it was too late, as McNeil fell in the opener. There were some bright spots, as sophomore John Salas and senior Nathanael Scheader pitched well, essentially shutting down the Raider bats.

With the last tournament of the season approaching, the Mavs will look ahead to finish out the tournament season strong and make improvements for districts. With good chances to pick up two wins over Manor, the expectations for this season are still very high.