At the bottom of the 5th inning, players on Granite City knew their only hope was to score at least four runs to avoid the mercy rule being enforced and ending the game two innings early. Senior Tyler Rudd came in as the closer, and the team was eagerly waiting to celebrate as the final score was solidified.
After the final out, senior Tyler Powell jumped up, running to meet his team in the middle of the field. The EHS baseball team had just won their second shutout win in their first five games of the season, beating Granite 14-0 March 26.
The win came during an already successful start to the season, and it not only made the boys more confident, but it gave them a chance to prove themselves and hone some of their abilities.
“It was a great opportunity to get everyone in the game to show their skills early in the season,” senior Lucas Krebs said.
Beginning with the first game, an 11-0 win against Normal on March 20, each game brought the team closer together and built up the bond they currently share.
“We all got dinner the night before the season opener and that was really good for the team to all do something other than baseball together,” senior Greyson Rathgeb said.
For the newer members and returning players, these games and extra team events are important for creating closeness between the players. For many of the seniors, however, that bond has been there for years.
“A lot of the guys are experienced players now and so it’s been really easy to work together,” Powell said. “We’ve been able to play freely and are confident in everyone every day.”
The game against Normal raised hopes for the remainder of the season; starting off strong is typically a good indicator going forward.
“It made us really confident,” Powell said. “Everyone did their job that day so that was able to propel us forward with confidence.”
The next three games were also victories for the Tigers, but they weren’t quite as easily won.
EHS won 5-4 against Joliet Catholic, 9-5 against Joliet West and 12-5 against De Smet Jesuit. Though these games were won by a smaller margin, the Tigers are still ranked second in the state and have a lot to look forward to continuing into the season.
“The season has started off as good as we could have asked for,” Rathgeb said. “[It’s] a good start and everyone is starting … to become a real team.”
Amidst the team consistently performing well and players seeing growth in both skill and closeness, they’ve been building up current and future goals to carry them through the season.
With a series of high performances from former teams behind them and high hopes for the current season in front of them, the team isn’t afraid to set high goals.
“[We want] to go out on top and accomplish everything we talk about during the year,” Rathgeb said.