With the end of last season and school year, the SHS varsity baseball team lost seven graduating seniors. The SHS boys baseball program began tryouts on Monday, Feb. 24 and ended on Friday, March 7 with hopes of replacing last year’s seniors in their respective positions.
Once the baseball season starts, the team will practice every day after school in the Aux Gym, the football field or on Cisar Field. Additionally, the team lifts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday before practice.
Study hall monitor and varsity baseball coach Tommy Carosielli, is returning for his second season at Solon. Prior to last season, Carosielli was the head varsity baseball coach at Normandy High School.
“It’s such a unique culture here at Solon,” Carosielli said. “I love being here. I love the guys that we have and [what] we’re building.“
While there are a lot of spots left empty by the 2024 graduates, Carosielli said that many crucial players still remain.
“The biggest thing in high school baseball always comes down to pitching,” Carosielli said. “We’re lucky enough that we returned our top two pitchers, Henry Fritz and Gavin Dunmire. [I am] looking for a good season out of Brody Cowan, who missed all of the 2024 season with an injury, so getting him on the mound and seeing how he responds to the varsity games is going to be really fun.”
Senior middle infielder and pitcher as well as Walsh University baseball and football commit Braeden Springer has played on the varsity team for two years. Springer said he is feeling good about the upcoming season.
“We were a young team last year,” Springer said. “[We are] returning most of our starters from last year as well. I think we have a good chance of being good this year.“
Senior outfielder Ethan Zhao has played for the varsity team for three years and said he has learned a lot during his time on the team.
“I’ve learned to help players learn and then just teach people new things that I have learned when I was a freshman,” Zhao said. “[I] just try to help the underclassman learn more.”
Carosielli said that the most important part of coaching high school players is helping them grow as athletes and players.
“It’s all about getting out there and competing and making strides forward,” Carosielli said. “Ultimately, it’s about making improvements every single day and getting our guys into the best young men and young baseball players they can be.”
The players said they have a good team dynamic and work well with each other.
“We all just want to have fun,” Zhao said. “We’re all goofy during practice, we’re having fun of course, but we also work really hard. We do whatever coach says to do, and we just put our heads down and work.”
Carosielli said a crucial part of the team’s success is their team chemistry along with a balance of having fun and working hard.
“It’s such an interesting group because we have a lot of returning guys that have such good personalities,” Carosielli said. “I think that one strength of our team is that our program is kind of like a family. Our guys are always laughing and joking, but when it comes time to buckle down and get down to business, they’re always [ready] to lock in.
The team will play their first scrimmage on March 17, against West Geauga High School. Their home opening game will take place on March 28 against Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School.
