JOLIET – Edwardsville assistant baseball coach Craig Ohlau was certainly one of many people who enjoyed the Tigers' run to the IHSA Class 4A final.
“They all work very hard,” Ohlau said of the Tigers, who fell to Crystal Lake South 8-3 in Saturday night's championship game, following Friday evening's 3-1 semifinal win over Burbank St. Laurence at Joliet's Silver Creek Field. “Every day, we come to the ballpark, we work hard and have fun doing it – and that's the key. When you have fun doing what you love to do, it all comes into place.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“You have energy, you have enthusiasm with what you're doing.”
Edwardsville finished the season with a 34-8 mark with a simple approach. “We keep taking it one step at a time,” Ohlau said. “One pitch, one inning – we take it down to one game. It's that approach – that high-pressure, high-pleasure, methodical approach that has worked for us. The guys have bought in and they're having a lot of fun, and when you have a lot of fun, all the pressure – it turns to pleasure.”
One thing the Tigers brought to the field was an unselfish approach to what needed to be done. “You ask anyone on this team and everyone would tell you the same thing – it's a very unselfish group. It's team-first; it's not me-first and it shows. They pick each other up, battle with each other, they win with each other – and they enjoy it together.
“Every year, we've got great groups of kids who have put in countless hours of work, not only in the summer, not only in the winter and the spring and this team is playing for them.”
Edwardsville's baseball tradition goes back many years. “There's a sweet tradition here at Edwardsville,” Ohlau said. “The guys take great pride in that and they want, year after year, keep that tradition going, keep it alive.”
Having the backing of their fellow students, the school administration and the community meant much to the Tigers. “All the parents do an excellent, excellent job,” Ohlau said. “We appreciate all that support.”
