LINDEN &8212; The Marengo Academy varsity baseball team will take on Southern Academy at home in its second of four area games this season. The Longhorns (15-10, 1-0) took their first area victory of the year Tuesday, defeating Patrician Academy 7-3.

While the overall record may not be eye-popping, Lindsey believes it provides little indication as to just how good his team is.

Lindsey constructed a tough schedule for his squad, hoping to better ready it for the task that would await should it make the playoffs.

Lindsey believes the scheduling has served its purpose, creating a trial-by-fire scenario, which has his team stepping up its play at the right time.

As he looks toward those games, he is confident his team has overcome many of its early season woes.

The coach says his pitching staff has been anchored by consistent strong performances from Clayton Crocker and one of the team&8217;s only three seniors, Phillip Farmer.

In addition to Farmer&8217;s production, the team has received significant offensive contributions from Chris Whitaker.

That level of production will be key to the Longhorns&8217; success as they look to win the final AISA Area 1, Region 2 championship before working their way back to their level&8217;s biggest stage, the 2A state title game.