The disappointment of last season’s playoff exit still lingers for the Mount Carmel baseball team. With a strong core of returning players and intense offseason preparation, the Caravan are determined to make a deep postseason run this year.
After a very good season last year, MC fell short in the semifinal round of playoffs to Providence Catholic High School. Now, the team is back with more experience and one goal: the state championship.
“Our expectations are always the same,” said head coach Brian Hurry. “We want to win the last game of the season.”
MC returns several key players who will play major roles this season. Senior leaders Kolin Adams, Matthew Murphy, and Andrew McCormick bring valuable experience. Juniors Anthony Chavez, Thomas McQuillan, Joey Ireland, Jake Matise, Santino Pilotto and Connor Elenteny are also expected to contribute to the team’s success. Younger players are also stepping up, giving the team depth and versatility.
“We have a solid core coming back, including some key pitchers and our middle infield. Their experience is huge because they’ve been in pressure situations before.” Ireland said.
Pitching and defense were strengths for the Caravan last year, and they will be crucial again this season.
“I’d say our strengths are the same,” Coach Hurry said. “It starts with pitching—we have really good pitching and solid defense.”
The team has also worked on improving situational hitting to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Elenteny emphasized the work put in to sharpen his skills on the mound. “I’ve been working on pitching to improve for this season,” he said. “Since I’m a pitcher only, it’s really all I can work on.”
The entire team has been focused on consistency and execution to make sure that they can perform when it matters most. One challenge that the team faced last season was inexperience, but this season, that has turned into an advantage.
“We were young and mostly inexperienced last year,” Coach Hurry said. “Now, our experience is going to be an asset and a strength for this year’s team.”
With more players who have been in high pressure situations, the Caravan believes they can handle the intensity of playoffs. The team has also built strong chemistry, which will be important throughout the season.
“Our chemistry feels stronger,” Ireland said. “There’s a lot of trust among the guys, and we push each other to be better.”
Elenteny agreed, saying the team spends time together off the field, which has helped their bond grow. “It goes beyond just baseball, on the weekends, we hang out together, and everyone is cool with each other,” he said.
Offseason preparation has been intense, with fall baseball and winter training sessions before school. “We’ve been pretty much training since December,” Coach Hurry said. “The guys have put in a lot of work to get ready.”
Ireland mentioned that the team has focused on both physical and mental toughness. “A lot of guys have been putting in extra work in the weight room and in the cages,” he said. “But we’ve also worked on handling adversity better and keeping our energy up no matter what.”
The Caravan will face tough competition, especially in conference play. “Once we get into conference play, the Chicago Catholic League Blue is extremely competitive,” Coach Hurry said. “Any of those games will be intense and push us to be better.”
Ireland knows that the team is especially looking forward to the opponents that knocked them out last year. “Those games are circled on our schedule,” he said. “We want to prove that we’ve improved and can compete at a higher level.”
With strong leadership, improved experience, and a determined mindset, MC has their eyes set on a championship.
“We definitely have the talent to win it,” Elenteny said. “We just have to keep getting better throughout the season.”
