The Brother Martin-Jesuit baseball game has been moved to Monday at 4 p.m. at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium

In three of the past four seasons, Jesuit has brought home the Class 5A state baseball title.

The expectations, suffice it to say, are fairly high.

So, with the Blue Jays off to a 13-9 start, including a 2-2 start to district play, those might be grumblings you’re hearing from Banks Street.

By Bradley Handwerger / WWL-TV.com

Jesuit coach Tim Parenton talks to his team before practice Wednesday. The Blue Jays, off to a 13-9 start, play Brother Martin Wednesday at 4 p.m.

But don’t worry, first-year coach Tim Parenton said. The season is far from over.

That’s not to say he’s 100 percent happy with the way things are going.

“You read it in the paper – Jesuit is not the same as they used to be,” Parenton said. “That happens. These kids are playing just as hard. I hate it for them that they have to read those things. We’re out there every day busting our tails to get better.

“It’s going to happen for us. Right now, if the league were to end, we’d be in the playoffs. Guess what? Everybody is 0-0. It doesn’t matter what you did.”

There is light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, the opening may only be several feet away at this point.

Playing with a team full of inexperience – only three players have loads of varsity experience, Parenton said – the team has won three in a row.

The players are beginning to feel it, senior infielder Stephen Lukinovich said.

“More people are starting to realize this is a team and not just individuals,” Lukinovich said. “If we play as a team, we’re going to win. Now our hitting is coming on.”

Indeed, playing St. Augustine and Chalmette might be just what the team needed. Jesuit beat the Purple Knights 16-0 and the Cardinals 12-2.

Now the Blue Jays get their second crack at Brother Martin (4 p.m., Wednesday, Kirsch-Rooney).

On March 19, in Brother Martin’s 3-1 win, Jesuit couldn’t pick up timely hits and the Crusaders did. And while that game gave Brother Martin confidence, Jesuit is looking for the same kind of pick-me-up.

“Tomorrow would be a huge district win for us and give us a lot of confidence and a lot of drive,” Lukinovich said.

But Parenton knows the cards he holds. He knows Brother Martin is the team to beat in the district. That doesn’t mean he has to like it.

“Our goal is to win a state championship,” Parenton said. “Everyone else’s goal is to win district championships. Once you get in the state tournament, it’s like anything else – everybody is 0-0 and you move on. I said that before, but I believe that.”

Parenton knows how quickly things can change. As a member of the coaching staff at the University of Florida, he was part of a team that finished as runner-up in the College World Series in 2005. A year later, the Gators were 10-20 in the SEC and failed to make the postseason.

But just as quickly as things go south, they can get better even faster.

And that’s what Parenton is hoping is happening right now with his team. They’ll have a chance to get above .500 for the first time this season in district with a win against Brother Martin.

Regardless of what happens, though, Parenton knows one thing about his first year at Jesuit.

“Every school goes through this, it’s not just Jesuit,” he said. “One school stumbles in another sport, you hear the grumbling. You just have to look at yourself in the mirror every day and say that you’ve done the best you can do.

“I’ve done that.”