Earlier in the year, on June 14, the varsity baseball team made history by winning its first-ever state championship. It was a historic moment to secure the victory after having failed to do so in 2013 and 1976. Pitcher Josh Holst, now attending the Air Force Academy, played a big role in the win over McHenry by pitching a strong game. Holst threw about 90 pitches, struck out eight players and allowed just two hits. Josh Holst wasn’t the only Wildcat to have success. Cole Lockwood scored two runs, and Mason Strader and Nick Farmakis each had a run themselves. Many others contributed to the decisive victory to bring home the championship last school year.
Success During the Season
Losses were few and far between for the Wildcats. Libertyville went 36-4 on the season boasting one of the best records in Libertyville baseball history. Led by Head Coach Matt Thompson, the Wildcats placed first in the North Suburban Conference going nearly undefeated in the NSC with a record of 13-1 in the conference.
There was never an “Oh no!” moment during the season. Emphasizing getting back on the field after a loss was of great importance to the coaches. Assistant Coach Dan Gooris attributed a lot of success to the ability of the players to help each other stay focused over the course of the season as well as putting in extra work outside of practice whether it was hitting, lifting or throwing.
“The kids, they’ve played together for a long time, so I think they were all on the same page,” Assistant Coach Dan Gooris said. “It allowed the coaches to focus on coaching…that definitely made the job of the coaches easier.”
Team Culture
Coach Thompson credited the growth of team culture as well as the team chemistry to the leaders on the team like pitcher Josh Holst, catcher Quinn Schambow and infielder Cole Lockwood.
All three of them were three year starters on the team.
Being a starter for multiple years certainly helped them solidify themselves into that leader role. “Quinn Schambow has been a great leader on the team and role model for me,” Junior (then sophomore) Brady Buenik said.
“He really helped me build my confidence during the season and that’s why I felt like I had a pretty good season.” From the start of the year Coach Gooris could tell the kids were focused on what they needed to do.
This was shown immediately as the season began, with the Wildcats being able to win 16 straight games to start the season. The team showed resilience being able to also string together win streaks of seven and eleven.
Winning the championship was big for the community after the failed attempts at a championship years before. Along with the support given from the community, it couldn’t have been done without the players and coaches themselves.
“I had so much fun watching the kids and just being a part of it, and just to go through it with the coaches and the team, that’s the most special part that I’ll take with me,” Coach Gooris said.
Moments of Adversity
While losses were few and far between for Libertyville, within the games themselves, there were moments where the team didn’t perform in the first couple innings as well as they wanted. “[We need to focus on] teaching the kids and everyone that this stuff happens, don’t dwell on it,” Coach Gooris said.
“Focus on what we can control, and knowing and believing that we’re all the best people for our roles and we’re going to succeed.”Gaining confidence back and changing the notion of that game during the moments where it wasn’t the best were pivotal to the success over the season.
Setting Up for the Future
The team believed that a lot of the younger players on the team had learned much from some of the previous three-year starters on the team and will be able to fill in the roles of the graduated seniors and show the next man up mentality.
“They’re ready and they’re hungry for another one,” Coach Thompson said. Libertyville baseball is no doubt important to the community, and winning the championship showed that all of the support received paid off greatly.
