Louisa Baxter ’20, Lola Quigley ’20
Photo courtesy of Jack O’Reilly ’19
Jack O’Reilly started his baseball career with T ball around the age of 5 or 6. He started because his brother had played and his parents wanted him to try it. After that, Jack fell in love with the sport. He has said that he is “just as passionate about practice as the games” and that is what has allowed him to improve. This quality has led Jack to become an instrumental leader on the Episcopal baseball team for the past five years.
The Episcopal Academy Baseball team has started off the season 2-2 in the Inter Ac, and 8-2 out of league. They lost to Haverford and Penn Charter in the Inter-Ac, but they aren’t giving up yet. After losing five key seniors last year, including key members like Will Park and James Silvi, the team had big shoes to fill. Sole Captain Jack O’Reilly has stepped up tremendously, filling in the role of shortstop, which is not his normal position. He has told the younger kids who are contributing to “not take the game too seriously”, but rather to put their best efforts in. Though it was a hard change, in the beginning, O’Reilly acknowledges that the team has made a lot of progress.
In addition to the loss of the five seniors, Coach Grandieri has taken over as head coach this year. O’Reilly says it was a “hard transition with a brand new coach”, but “he cares about the guys; “he is passionate and knowledgeable about the game”. O’Reilly has been a five-year starter for the Churchmen and has “continuously grown his game over the years”, Grandieri added.
According to Coach Grandieri, “Jack’s contributions to the team are endless”, “he is the teams’ ‘ace on the mound’” and the “offensive and defensive catalyst”. Grandieri believes Jack owes his success to his best qualities of “preparation and performance”. However, Grandieri added that “his best quality as a teammate is his selflessness. Those qualities will take him very far in baseball but more importantly as a young man.”
Fellow teammate Tommy Craig ‘19 adds, “He is a very well-rounded player who adds a lot of leadership, which is definitely something that adds a lot to the team and their focus during practice”. Coach Grandieri and Craig both agree that O’Reilly acts as a role model for the entire team. O’Reilly’s advice to the team finishing up their 2019 season would be to “continue what they got going right now: playing good baseball”. O’Reilly also encourages others to stay focused and determined to finish the season strong.
Grandieri concludes by saying, “This season, like baseball, has had plenty of its ups and downs. We rattled off 6 straight games to start the season but most recently have faced some stiff competition in and out of league play that has given us some resistance. However, we have plenty of this season left and will continue to work hard and control what we can control”.
O’Reilly’s favorite moment of the season thus far was their trip to Florida. Teammate Tommy Craig ‘19 says, “I think the trip to Florida really help us come together as a team and was a great opportunity for us to play before our season was in full swing.” O’Reilly concludes by saying, “With all of our hard work this season, I look forward to what our team has in store.”