The GBS baseball team is in the midst of a playoff run after finishing the regular season in second place with a record of 24-11. Despite its regular season success, however, head coach Bob Rosinski believes his team has room for improvement.
“We’ve won a good amount of games, but we’ve been up and down a bit,” Rosinski said. “If you measure success by wins, we’ve been pretty good, but we need to get better for the state playoffs.”
The team’s early success has been fueled by their starting rotation, a group fronted by Indiana-bound senior Sully Stadler. According to Stadler, the entire team is strong.
“Our pitching staff is really strong this year,” Stadler said. “We have a lot of depth, and a lot of pitchers can go out there and throw strikes.”
Stadler, who committed to Indiana University this fall, is one of two members of the team signed to a Division I scholarship. According to Rosinski, he and first baseman Zach Jones, who signed to Northwestern, provide tangible and intangible value that makes coaching less difficult.
“They lead very well…and are two of the hardest working kids we have, and naturally only the best players [go on] to play division I baseball, so it’s nice to have a pitcher who can throw strikes and a hitter you can rely on in the middle of the lineup to drive in runs,” Rosinski said. “It’s comforting as a coach [to have them].”
Though Jones and Stadler provide plenty of tangible value to the club, outfielder George Stellas believes their intangibles are what make them stand out.
“I’ve been playing alongside them my whole life, and they’ve always been great teammates,” Stellas said. “It’s really been great to see them go to where they want [to play baseball], and it’s also been great to play with them all this time.”
While Stadler provides value in more ways than talent alone, according to Mac Zabriskie, senior relief pitcher, his ability as a frontline starter is impeccable.
“It’s kind of a luxury [to have him on our staff] because Sully is one of the better pitchers in state,” Zabriskie said. “He throws hard and mixes up his pitches very well, so pitching [out of the bullpen] behind him you have a batter who’s already faced a very good pitcher.”
While the pitching staff fronted by Stadler has performed well this year, Rosinski says the offense has had its share of troubles. However, Rosinski believes the potential is there for a productive offense.
“I think the skill is there, but I think the big thing we have to do is trust ourselves and have confidence in what do,” Rosinski said. “I think we have great talent though, and as long as we continue to be aggressive and confident, we’ll get to where we need to be.”
Though the team has faced difficulties offensively, junior outfielder Max Cohen believes the lineup has some unique advantages.
“We have a lot of lefties in our lineup [which is different than] what people are used to,” Cohen said. “Also, when it’s needed, we can get the bunt down well.”
Following a year where his team failed to advance through the regional playoff bracket, Rosinski has high hopes for this year’s playoffs. According to the head coach, the team has its sights set on making the state tournament.
“We want to go as far we can,” Rosinski said. “We want to get through the sectional and get an opportunity to play down state and want to win a handful of baseball games in the state tournament and see where we’re at.”
South plays Highland Park May 23 in the first round of the IHSA playoffs. With a win, the Titans will play for the Regional title and hope to advance to State.
