Lebanon baseball coach Robert Nordall went into Friday’s season opener with Elco at Coleman Memorial Park looking for a number-one pitcher. What Nordall got was a whole lot more.

He got attitude, passion and the possible leader of a revolution.

By blanking the Raiders 2-0, the Cedars, a program starved for a new direction, registered their first season-opening victory in six years. And the player behind the triumph was junior right hander Cameron Martin.

On a cold and blustery afternoon, Martin was nearly dominant on the mound, shutting down Elco on four singles. Martin struck out nine, walked none, retired the Raiders in order during three of their at-bats and allowed just one runner to reach second base.

It was the type of pitching performance that could not only get a team off to a good start, but one that could help change a program’s culture of winning.

– BY JEFF FALK