The boys varsity baseball team started off their season with an impressive trip to Arizona, finishing with six total wins (four from varsity, two from JV) and only one loss. Heading into conference play, the Wildcats look to be competitive in the stacked North Suburban Conference.
The ‘Cats will be lead by interm head coach Sean Ferrell. He will be taking over for Jim Schurr, who recently resigned as the head coach.
“When Coach Schurr resigned, I had the opportunity to help out this spring and serve as the head coach on an interim basis,” Mr. Ferrell commented. “I discussed it with my family and saw it as a good opportunity to offer my experience in the moment and keep the program moving forward.”
Before being promoted to varsity, Mr. Ferrell was the coach of the Freshman A team. LHS security guard Mr. Patrick Kelly, who is a former minor league baseball player, will take over as the Freshman A coach. Coach Ferrell does not know whether or not he will retain the varsity coaching job next year or go back to coaching freshmen.
The Wildcats’ starting rotation is headlined by the flamethrowers Ben Kimpler (senior) and Riley Gowens (sophomore). Both starters boast a mid-80s mph fastball. Even though he is only a sophomore, Gowens is already being looked at by major colleges. During the team’s spring trip to Arizona, Gowens had recruiters from Arizona State there to watch him play.
On April 5, the Wildcats played the rival Mundelein Mustangs, and three Wildcat pitchers combined for a no-hitter. Kimpler started the game and was taken out after the fifth inning before allowing a hit. Then after Kimpler exited, Matt Friello and Colin Fields closed the door and secured the victory with a combined no-hitter. The last MLB team to throw a combined no-hitter was the Phillies in 2014.
When commenting on the team’s depth, Coach Ferrell said, “We have some key guys returning: we have a small class of seniors, but really good kids coming back. Ben Kimpler, Tim Calamari, Brian Murphy and Connor Burke will return for us, and we will count on them. We have a big junior class led by catcher Jackson Peterson and outfielder Dan Marks. Finally, we will have some young sophomore faces led by Riley Gowens and Colin Fields who will see a great deal of time pitching for us, and Ryan Greenberg, who I expect to play as a middle infielder.”
Considering the small senior class, Coach Ferrell has a unique set of goals and expectations.
“I have high expectations for our kids for the upcoming season, but I don’t measure all of those just in terms of wins or losses. I focus more on 3 things: a. Their effort on and off the field; b. their attitudes; c. their actions as teammates. If we control those things, and I demand that of them, other things will fall into place,” Coach Ferrell commented.
Coming into the season, the Wildcats are one of the youngest teams in the conference, with only six seniors on the roster.
