Editor's note - Wednesday's game takes places after Press deadlines.

The Zephyr baseball team's second season gets under way this week, and with it the chance to get back to Coca-Cola Park and capture a district title.

That journey begins May 21 as they host Liberty High School in the first round of the District 11 AAAA playoffs. The Hurricanes, winners of the East Division in the Lehigh Valley Conference, are 14-7 this year and enter the playoffs as the fifth seed. Whitehall is the fourth seed, ending their season at 16-5.

Their first meeting resulted in a 3-1 victory as Jacob Meyers went the distance in the win. He allowed just two hits in his seven innings of work, while striking out nine.

Meyers will get the nod again in the district opener, and manager Shaun O'Boyle expects the Hurricanes will counter with ace Matt Leon. If so, that will be a rematch of their first game, a game in which the Zephs collected four hits against the flame-throwing righty.

O'Boyle said that Leon throws in the high 80s, using his fastball as his main weapon. While they only had four hits, they were able to get them with runners in scoring position, enabling them to get the victory. He said that they'll need to do that again and "put up some runs" against a tough pitcher if they want to advance.

Another key is not to get anxious at the plate. O'Boyle said that Leon doesn't command his off-speed pitches as well, and if they can jump on his fast ball, he'll be forced to use those pitches. Still, they have to be disciplined.

"We have to put the ball in play and not strike out," said O'Boyle.

He said during their first game they benefited from some timely hits, with Meyers helping his own cause with an RBI. Meyers will also need to come close to his masterful performance on the mound to get them into a possible rematch with Parkland High School on Friday.

O'Boyle believes that if they're able to put up some crooked numbers, his pitchers will keep them in the game.

The Hurricanes have a number of potent bats up and down their line-up with Michael Mittl, Tyler Lutseo, Tyler Erney, Abner Santana, Tom Epsaro and Leon all capable of making them a difficult exit.

Likewise, the Zephs boast their own roster of powerful bats as the top of their line-up is adding points to opposing pitchers ERAs. O'Boyle said that currently Ryan Bonshak is batting .390, followed by Tyler Bridgwood at .406. Jeff Charles is hitting .333 and Matt Melosky is north of .400, and Gianni Sinatore is above .300.

"Basically, out top six hitters are really hitting the ball well," said O'Boyle.

As he stated before, O'Boyle believes if they can do some damage at the bottom of the line-up and turn the order over, they'll be able to score some runs.

O'Boyle said it's also good to have a home game to begin the district playoffs. He said that's how it's been the last two years, with last year's run culminating in the title game at CCP. That won't happen this year since the two are in the same bracket and can only meet in the semifinal game. That will happen if they both win their openers.

And that suits O'Boyle just fine.

"Hopefully, we get another crack at Parkland on Friday," he said.