 Well, just under 12 hours away now from the first pitch of the state baseball tournament in Class 2A, the Pierce Pioneers find themselves some familiar territory with their second straight trip. Clayton Castle has more. Don't look now, but the 2017 Pierce Pioneers baseball team is headed to its second consecutive state tournament and the players couldn't be any more excited. It's pretty cool considering all these guys, a lot of them are football and wrestling and they go all the time. So for me just being in basketball and baseball and going twice now in a row is pretty cool. It's a pretty good feeling and it feels a lot like last year and this year we're looking to do a little more damage and yeah, we got the tools to do so and it feels good. Sitting at 24 and 2 headed into the tournament, there isn't a lot the team needs to brush up on. At this stage of the season, it's all a mental game. I think just like the mental stuff, like getting your head just sticking to what we do as a team and just playing our game right. Sitting 24 and 2 isn't an easy feat though and all the players know what has gotten them to this point. Our pitching. Pitching. For sure. Pitching. Yeah, our pitching has been outstanding. Matt Talwidge is a senior, Preston Rushlow a junior and Matt Cummins are probably our top three pitchers. Talwidge and Rushlow are two starters, Cummins more of a closer, but our top two guys have been absolutely phenomenal. It doesn't hurt when you're sending one of the best pitching staffs down to St. Cloud to face other opponents at a shot at the state title. When you have pitching, it keeps you in every single ball game and you factor that in with good defense and timely hitting. It makes your tough combination a beat and hopefully we can continue to do that. If we do, I like your chance to make a run in the state tournament. The pioneers will begin that run to the title game on Thursday against 18 and 5 New London Spicer reporting in Pierce Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. As Clayton said, they get the three seed they play tomorrow night at 5 30 in St. Cloud. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.