Head coach Clint Ellison is not a stranger to Senior Night by any means. As this is his fourth year at the helm of the boys’ varsity baseball team, he’s seen a few graduating classes of Dragons come and go. But 2018’s rendition of Senior Night had a different feel to it.

As members of the inaugural Dragons’ baseball team in 2015, the seniors that are set to depart this year have been with Ellison all four years.

The team’s four seniors (Troy Lindemann ‘18, Karl Roth ‘18, Jake Bridges ‘18 and Trey Casswell ‘18) were honored following the game, presenting flowers to their parents while Ellison gave personal testimonies of his experiences with the players.

In front of parents, fans and students alike, the Dragons impressed in their regular season home finale at Ventura College on Tuesday, May 8. Backed by a solid outing from Lindemann, Foothill got one step closer to clinching a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoff berth by topping the Wildcats of Villanova Preparatory School with a final score of 5-0.

In the first inning, the Dragons scored two runs with back-to-back RBI singles from Casswell and Lindemann. In hindsight, that’s all Foothill would need. However, an RBI from Jacob Bridges in the fifth inning, as well as two additional runs that came as a result of a few Villanova errors, served as insurance in what would eventually be a shutout victory.

Foothill was also able to establish their dominance on the basepaths. They recorded five stolen bases over the course of the game—two of those belonging to Roth.

On the mound, Lindemann truly made his final regular season home game count. He tossed a complete game shutout, striking out nine batters while allowing only two hits and a walk.

Ellison remarked that Lindemann “threw really well today” and “did a really good job […] hitting spots today.” Meanwhile, Lindemann himself was ecstatic about his performance, saying that “it feels great.”

“I’ve spent four years on varsity,” he explained. “It’s nice to get this recognition and have all my friends and teachers and people I look up to out here supporting me in my last home game.”

The Dragons will finish their regular season on Thursday, May 9, when they travel to Villanova to take on the Wildcats once more. A victory in this situation is imperative, as it would secure a playoff berth.

In order to ensure success from this point forward, Ellison hopes to focus on “staying true to what we’re doing.”

“What we’re trying to do [includes] quick and early outs, easy outs, pitching to contact […and] making the routine plays.”

Lindemann added that “if we just play our game, I think we’ll be fine.”

“I think if we can win on Thursday, [we can] definitely carry that momentum into playoffs and see where we go from there,” said Lindemann.