The men’s varsity baseball team is off to an 13-5 start after losing two of its first three games of the season.
The team lost to Oak Park River Forest and Leyden back-to-back, only scoring two runs in both games combined. Head coach Bob Rosinski attributes the early season stint to a lack of production at the plate.
Junior outfielder Max Cohen had his own way of getting out of the hitting slump, which quickly spread to the rest of the players.
“After those first couple games, I just focused on hitting the ball right on the sweet spot,” Cohen said. “I started hitting really well, and hitting is contagious so the rest of the team [started] to as well.”
According to Rosinski, this infectious hitting, along with continual stellar performances from the bullpen, allowed South to win eight games in a row in the middle of their season.
Senior pitcher Sully Stadler contributed when he threw a five-inning perfect game against Schaumburg. Stadler’s performance led to the 11-0 victory, and he was very thankful to have hit his spots in the full-count situations.
“I went 3-2 in a lot of the batting counts,” Stadler said. “Getting that last pitch strike was difficult, but I knew that I had a strong defense to back me up.”
Along with Stadler, many other seniors have stepped up and taken leadership roles on this team. The seniors consist of outfielder George Stellas, first basemen Zach Jones, and shortstop and pitcher Josiah Carlson. However, according to Cohen, the leadership is definitely not limited to these four players.
“Pretty much every single senior knows how the team is supposed to be run, and they make sure all the juniors are doing the right thing,” Cohen said. “They are just a great influence on us.”
Junior Sam Koloms, who played on the varsity team as a sophomore, feels that everyone should have a leadership role on the team. As a veteran, he feels that he specifically needs to be a strong role model for the junior class.
“I feel like I need to show [the juniors] how we do things on the varsity level, and show them what Rosinski expects,” Koloms said. “I feel like they look up to me as a role model on the team.”
Koloms has taken on the role of third basemen and a starting pitcher as well, but he is only one of many very talented juniors, according to Stadler.
“Matt Hoshaw has been hitting very well as our designated hitter [and] Kyle Pauly has pitched great so far, and Nick Loggarakis at second-base and Cohen in the outfield have been really consistent also,” Stadler said.
After winning Conference last year, the general consensus on the team is to repeat as the Conference champions.
“I think we will be able to win Conference again this year,” Koloms said. “We just need to hit the ball consistently and play the way we know we can play.”
According to Stadler, the top contenders are usually Maine South and New Trier for Conference, but it was Loyola who knocked South out of the playoffs last year in the second round.
Stadler stressed how important the post-season is, no matter how the team finishes in the regular season.
“Our goal of the season is to make a far run in the playoffs,” Stadler said. “It doesn’t matter if you went undefeated in the regular season, your success of the whole season is basically determined by how far you go in the post-season.”
Rosinski believes they can make this playoff run as long as the strong pitching stays consistent and the hitting slightly improves. But despite the end of the year success, this team is one of a kind in Rosinski’s eyes.
“I think we have a good group of kids,” Rosinski said. “I think this is the best group of kids we’ve had as far as the camaraderie, how they get along, and how they work together.”