In every sport there is a certain feeling of momentum, which is what the Manhattan High Varsity baseball team let carry them to a victory against Topeka High 11-1 and 10-4. The team was also met with their Senior Night on Friday night in their final home game.

Although mercy ruling the opponent in both games does make it look easy, MHS had a tough time with multiple aspects throughout the night.

“In the first game I thought we played pretty well,” head coach Don Hess said. “Second game we didn’t pitch as well to start with, which gave them some momentum. Then it got a little chippy, and I don’t enjoy games where teams are getting chippy with each other…It is what it is and were just happy that Chase [Brown, senior] was able to come in the second game and pitch well for us and get the sweep.”

The team had to battle several struggles throughout the entirety of the game, including the emotions of Senior Night and playing their last regular season home game.

“[Playing my last home baseball game] feels a little weird,” senior Ethan Kaus said. “I’ve been playing with these guys for a really long time and a couple of these guys moved in but we have all been playing together in high school and that’s really meaningful. It was more meaningful to get the win and that’s what we did.”

The team started the first game going down 0-1 in the top of the first inning. They didn’t skip a beat and quickly came back, ending the first inning 8-1. They later ended that game in the fifth inning 11-1 with a run each from senior Talon Claussen and junior Zac Cox.

The struggle of scoring at the start was much more prominent in the second game, as they allowed Topeka High to lead 4-2 by the end of the third inning, leading to the turning point of the game.

“I think that was certainly the turning point,” senior Carson Marsh said. “We were able to get momentum on our side again and we got focused again. I think we got a little more focused when we realize it wasn’t going to be easy and we were going to have get the sticks going.”

As the team looks for a win on their final regular season game on Tuesday against rivals Junction City, it also looks towards the postseason.

“For us it’s a seeding type game,” Hess said “There’s about seven teams within a game of each other for the seeding purposes so [Junction City] is a big game for us. The rivalry is one thing but there are big games for us and we just need to make sure that we get better along the way and don’t lose or draw.”

As several seniors play their final of baseball game, they set their eyes on the future.

“With most of us not playing in the future, we want to end on a high note,” Kaus said. “We definitely can get to where we want to be to end on that high note, which is state, but we need to put it all together and really want it as a team which sometimes this year we haven’t.”