It is the biggest game of the year for Freedom’s baseball team, and leading them on the mound is pitcher Cole Lentz. Behind him is his impermeable defense. Without any qualms, everyone knows Freedom will be difficult to defeat. This scene is one that Cole Lentz thinks about all the time and a scene that he has lived many times since the beginning of his high school career. Cole wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. Lentz is one of the most feared pitchers in Beaver County this year. He has solidified himself as a top pitcher by retaining a lot of game experience since being a freshman. He has won many games over the past few years, including shutting out heavily favored Blackhawk, ending Austin Wolf’s 36 game hit streak in the Legion semifinals and throwing a no-hitter against Avonworth last spring. When speaking of pitching in these situations Lentz said, “I like having the pressure on me.” Preparing for these pressure situations can be tough for any pitcher, so Lentz always follows the same pregame routine. Lentz likes to listen to as much music as he can during the school day. The music eases his mind and prepares him for the challenge that awaits him after school. After school, he begins his pregame ritual by putting war paint on his face. His ritual then includes running to get the blood flowing in his body. This is followed by a deep and thorough stretch to prevent an injuries or pulled muscles. After stretching, he loosens up his arm by long tossing. When his arm is good and loose, Lentz begins to warm up on mound. After maintaining control of all his pitches, Lentz is ready to pitch. Lentz can hardly describe the emotions he feels when he is on the pitchers’ mound. His favorite thing about pitching is knowing that he can overpower hitters when he is on his “A” game. He has the pitcher’s mentality that he can’t be touched. He says, “I can’t hear anything except for what I am thinking in my mind, about the next pitch. I like to take it one pitch at a time.” Although Lentz is a great pitcher, he relies on a great defense to make plays behind him when players do hit the ball of him. Also Lentz can throw as many scoreless innings that he can, but Freedom’s offense has to produce runs to win. Freedom should have no problem scoring runs this year a talented core of hitters that make things happen by putting the ball in play. With Lentz and the other pitchers, along with the other members of the baseball team meshing together Freedom will be an extremely difficult team to beat.