Senior outfielder Brandon Rogers missed two seasons of high school baseball due to the combination of COVID-19 and a torn ACL.
He also waited a long time to make his Mount Carmel debut on the diamond after transferring from Brother Rice following his sophomore year.
“It was big for me to get out here and play because it’s been so long,” Rogers said. “It was fantastic for me to have a home opener and finally get on the field with Mount Carmel.
“It’s felt great being able to build these connections with my teammates.”
Rogers, an Oklahoma recruit, also is off to a fast start as the leadoff hitter for the Caravan (14-4), hitting .424 with 15 runs and seven RBIs.
“Brandon’s had to fight through a lot of adversity,” Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry said. “With the injury, it wasn’t easy. I told him that the more he plays, the better he gets. His timing is getting better.
“He has my intensity. I love that he plays 100% and he’s all hustle all the time. That’s leading by example.”
Rogers suffered the torn ACL during a football game last spring at Loyola. It cost him his junior baseball season and part of his senior football season.
Rogers, who was expected to compete for the starting spot at quarterback, returned late in the fall season and played wide receiver and some quarterback.
“It’s been a journey, obviously,” Rogers said. “It took a while for me to process it after the injury happened.
“I had some days where I was struggling, but I knew I had to toughen it out. There was a lot I had to go through mentally and physically.”
Rogers takes pride in being the leader that Hurry said he is.
“I think I get it from the football side, where everything is always going, going, going,” Rogers said. “I try to bring that beast mentality to anything I do, whether it’s in school, on the field, talking to people.
“I just try to stay positive with everything I do.”
While the Major League Baseball draft could change things, Rogers currently plans to walk on to the football team at Oklahoma as well as play baseball.
“I’m looking forward to going down there to play both sports,” he said. “We’ll see how that goes. It’s always been my dream to play both sports at the next level. I’ve never put one aside or just focused on one sport over the other.
“For me, there’s a need to play both. It’s just a need. It’s an addiction, in a way. I just love them both.”
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Hitting 500: In his 30th year as Reavis’ coach, Don Erickson picked up his 500th win on April 11 with a 4-0 victory over Argo.
“I know the end’s coming, so there’s some good and bad to that,” Erickson said. “Five hundred is awesome. It’s a great accomplishment. But I look more at the individual relationships.
“I was getting texts from kids I coached who aren’t kids anymore, who are in their mid-40s who played for me in the mid-1990s congratulating me, and recent players, too. That’s what I really value. Plus, you always remember the hard losses more than the great wins.”
The milestone was part of a big week for Reavis (9-5-1, 5-0), which also picked up key wins over Lemont and Evergreen Park to remain undefeated in the South Suburban Red.
Spartan success: Joining Reavis in that top spot for the South Suburban Red is Oak Lawn (9-3, 5-0).
The Spartans have a team ERA of 2.05, with senior Nate Coghill, juniors Cristian Ruiz and KJ Mallo and sophomore Ethan Collins leading the pitching staff.
Collins is also hitting .350 with nine RBIs, the latter sharing the team lead with junior Jack McGlynn.
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.