The varsity baseball team finished its season on June 6, with an 11-3 loss to Hope Academy in the IHSA sectional finals. The game, played at Hope Academy, ended U-High’s postseason run after the team finished the season with a record of 11-10-2. This marked the furthest the team had advanced in the postseason since 2019. 

To reach the IHSA sectional finals, the team won both the regional final and sectional semifinal. 

Ninth grader Charlie Schopin enjoyed playing this season and attributed the team’s success to the close-knit team. 

“I think we had a good team connection, like a team bond,” Charlie said. “Everyone was friends with each other. I also think we just improved a lot as a team. Especially when the important games came around, we were able to show up.” 

Junior Bryce Poston felt that players remaining on the varsity roster throughout the season contributed to this camaraderie. This felt different than previous seasons, where seniors took on team leadership positions. 

“Our varsity team didn’t fluctuate over the course of the year,” Bryce said. “Sometimes, players will move up and down, but we had a pretty set-in-stone varsity team past the second or third week, and everybody bonded pretty well.”

Bryce also saw each player, regardless of grade, take on their own unique leadership role. With only one senior on the team, captain Dallan Krewatch, other players stepped up, Bryce said. Bryce referenced sophomore Jason Cross, whose louder personality lent itself to encouraging his teammates. 

Charlie’s highlight of the season was seeing the team make it to the sectional finals, he said. Bryce’s highlight was his first time up to bat in the season’s first game, which they played against Lincoln Park High School. 

“My first at-bat, I went up, and I hit a home run,” Bryce said. “And that was pretty exciting ’cause I’ve never hit a home run in high school before.”