The baseball diamond at Oak Park and River Forest High School was filled with players warming up for practice on a recent March afternoon. 

The Head Coach, Kevin Campbell, a physical education teacher and athletic coordinator, watched the team he picked for the season practice in the blinding sun. The players still caught every ball their partners threw at them from nearly 75 feet away.

 Oak Park and River Forest are known for their focus on youth baseball and softball. Many of the players on the team have had baseball in their lives for nearly a decade, if not more.

And the players are ready, including senior and University of Tennessee at Knoxville commit Ethan Moore, who has been on the team for all four years of his high school career.

Moore played alongside his brother, Ezra Moore, who graduated from OPRF in 2023, and for two years was an asset to Ethan Moore’s success. Campbell gives much credit to Ezra Moore as “he really showed Ethan a lot when it comes to leadership and mentoring, and now, we can see that with Ethan now mentoring his younger brother,” Ian Moore, Campbell said.

In previous years, from watching the games first-hand, one of the most significant shortcomings of the team has been pitching. Campbell stays optimistic about his junior class and the players he brought into the varsity program, saying, “We brought back three guys this year that already have some innings under their belt…and our junior class if you look at their stats from sophomore years, their statistics are off the charts for the most part.”

As for the players, they are ready for the season to start, especially junior Johnny Nelson, who is entering his second full season on the varsity team. “We have a great group of guys this year, and tons of talent all around, so we’re really excited to see what we can do this year,” Nelson said. The team has also amped up its schedule, taking on many conference games and powerhouse programs this season.

With many veteran players on the baseball team this year, it is imperative that the team still welcomes newcomers, as they will be a factor in the future of the program. Brady Green, a senior, commented on this: “We’re just trying to make a welcoming environment. Keep things nice and fun… be competitive, but you only get high school baseball once, so of course we’ll mess up, but we’ll get up and have some fun.”

The team is energetic for the season to start, but still, the overarching goal for the team starts with winning the conference regular season championship. But the real focus each and every day is to win the next game. 

The season officially started during spring break, when they competed in the Warrior Spring Classic Tournament in Tennessee. The home opener is April 2 against New Trier High School at 5 p.m.

The sun continues to beam down on the diamond at OPRF with players who are hungry to go far in the postseason this year, but to get there, they take one game at a time.