Why Gillespie baseball remains a threat despite loss of SJ-R player of the year
The Gillespie baseball team remains confident that the Miners can have a prolonged postseason run despite graduation losses to key players, including The State Journal-Register's Small School Baseball Player of the Year, Kamryn Link.
Even though Gillespie has three losses in a row through Tuesday, the Miners had bigger goals than its undefeated regular season from a season ago.
Gillespie made the Class 2A Pleasant Plains Sectional title game last year but lost to Quincy Notre Dame for its only blemish all season. That was as far as the Miners had advanced in the Illinois High School Association postseason since 2002.
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“We want to make it farther; we’ve got a tougher schedule this year — we already know that,” senior Tristen Wargo said. “We lose one, we’re going to come back strong (the next game).”
Gillespie (12-6 overall, 3-1 South Central Conference following a 5-4 loss at Piasa Southwestern on Tuesday), has several key players that kept the Miners formidable in 2024.
Seniors Buhs, Wargo, Bryce Hohnsbehn and Jesse Berry were all major players for the Miners a season ago. Buhs opened the Miners’ SCC schedule with a no-hitter at Litchfield on April 5. It was his fifth of his career. According to the IHSA, seven no-hitters is the state’s all-time career record. Buhs’ five is tied for fifth in Illinois history, per the IHSA.
“When he’s on, he’s as good as anybody and he’s going to keep us in a lot of ballgames,” Gillespie coach Jeremy Smith said of Buhs.
Sophomores Luke Schuckenbrock and Colin Griffith, juniors Jack Kaylor and Sean Haywood, along with senior Jaydon Baker, were more than ready to step into the absences created by graduation.
The returning Miners still have a load of talent despite losing key contributors Link, Chase Helvey, Jaiden Johnson, Colton Bultema, Bryan Jubelt and Ian Brown.
Smith beefed up his team’s schedule, resulting in losses to Class 4A’s O’Fallon, Class 2A runner-up Columbia, Jacksonville Routt, New Berlin and Class 3A Rochester. While regular season losses are happening, his players will be ready for whatever rolls around in the playoffs.
Talent and experience will take teams only so far, though. Senior first baseman Bryce Hohnsbehn said his teammates were relentless since the high school season ended last spring.
“Everybody put in the work,” Hohnsbehn said. “There wasn’t a day in a week that we weren’t hitting. The improvement definitely went up and it’s showing. We (walked) into this season as confident as ever. We’re returning a bunch of guys and all these guys have talent and we’re ready to go.”
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Smith said his team has all the tools to be a successful bunch.
“Our defense has been solid for the most part all year so we feel like if we need our guys to throw strikes, we’re going to make the plays behind them,” Smith said. “We feel like if we can score, our defense and pitching is there.”
If it is, perhaps the Miners can make the state finals for the first time since 1991.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA baseball: Gillespie still eyes successful run despite key losses
