Adversity: how the baseball team dealt with this little nine-letter word is what defined its season. It started the 2010 season with a lackluster 5-5 record after only losing four games the entire 2009 season. With that kind of record, playoffs seemed like a hopeless goal. This resilient bunch of young men knew exactly how to deal with such adversity. All seven seniors were poised to not let their baseball careers at Freedom end in such a manner. After their fifth loss of the season on April 20, the previously silent Bulldog bats came alive. Suddenly the timely hitting that had plagued them earlier in the season had now become one of their biggest strengths. The Bulldogs went on to win their next eight games and clinch the second seed in section-1 AA. They shocked the eventual section champion, the Center Trojans, behind the bat of Danny O’Leary and right arm of relief pitcher Bryan McSorley. Cole Lentz continued to dominate on the mound and at the plate. He shut down section rivals Beaver and New Brighton and contributed key hits to the victories. “We never gave up,” Coach Steve Wetzel said, “I believe this team is better than last year’s team because they came through when their backs were against the wall.” The Bulldogs rode this hot streak into the playoffs where they met Laurel in the first round. Freedom took the lead early as Cole Lentz knocked in Derek Lehocky, who ripped a triple deep into the left center gap in the first inning. Unfortunately that would be the only run that the Bulldogs would score in the game. Although the Bulldogs did not score after the first inning, it was not as if the team did not have its chances. The team left 12 runners in scoring position in the last five innings alone. Pitching was not the problem in the loss to Laurel. Lentz was practically unhittable giving up only two hits in nine innings. Bryan McSorley gave up two hits in his two innings pitched, but it was his consecutive wild pitches that proved the difference. A Laurel base runner was able to score from second on a curveball that passed catcher Adam Teets. It was a close call, but in the end Freedom was sent home from the playoffs. It was a sad end to the long and successful careers of the seven seniors who will be missed next season. Freedom will bring back two starters for next season and a handful of experienced underclassmen who expect to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year.