Lawrence High baseball players don’t care what their record is. They’re ready to prove they still have the talent to earn a spot in the Class 6A state tournament.

The seventh-seeded Lions will face second-seeded Washburn Rural in the first round of regionals at 4 p.m. today at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka. The winner advances to play No. 3 Junction City (10-10) or No. 6 Topeka (7-13) at 6 p.m.

“We’re really excited. We haven’t been back (to state) for three years now,” senior Michael Sinks said. “Just anxious to get there. We haven’t met expectations the last two years so we’re going to meet them this year.”

The Lions (7-13) have lost eight games this season by two runs or less. Attempting to change their fortune in close games, they put in extra work on defense during practice this week working to eliminate errors and giving opposing teams extra outs.

“Even though we think there’s some room for improvement, we think that we are starting to click a little bit, swinging the bats well and pitching well,” LHS coach Brad Stoll said. “If we can just play some good defense, I think we’ve got a shot to get in the state tournament.”

LHS is expecting to face Washburn Rural (13-5) senior right-hander Blake Peterson in the opening game. Peterson, a quarterback who signed with Texas State to play college football, used to play summer youth baseball in Lawrence.

“We were best friends when we were on the (Kansas City) Rebels,” said Sinks, who played with Peterson until they were 14 years old. “We were just buddies, always messing with each other and always competing against each other. So it’s fun to actually be able to do it on different teams this time.”

Stoll added of Peterson: “I watched him shut down Olathe East in the state tournament. He’s had some really good wins for Washburn Rural. It’s certainly no easy task. We just have to control what we can control: swing at good pitches, not chase breaking balls out of the zone. Stay disciplined at the plate and I think we’ve got a chance.”

The Lions are confident in their pitching to keep up with Peterson. They just know they need to find ways to win in close games.

“We just need to be tougher,” Sinks said. “We’ve been playing really well lately, even though we’ve lost the last two out of three. We still believe that we are the toughest team going in.”