Following a 21-5 record and its first DAC-VII conference championship, the Chapel Hill High baseball team’s season ended in a 9-1 at-home upset to Topsail High School on May 12 in the second round of the state playoff tournament.
In his fifth season with the Diamond Tigers, head coach Bryan Tuck led the team to an eighth-place ranking in the 4A East division.
“I felt pretty confident going into the season because we were returning a bunch of key pieces from a year ago,” Tuck said. “My expectations were to try and win the conference and the conference tournament and make a solid run in the playoffs.”
Senior pitcher and co-captain Tyler Stillson led the team in a number of categories: he tallied 34 total hits, a 72.1 slugging percentage (seventh overall in 4A East), seven doubles, five triples and two home runs. Stillson will play for Case Western Reserve University, along with senior pitcher Zach Barnes.
Stillson and Barnes topped the DAC-VII conference in RBIs and finished in second and third place respectively behind senior catcher Will Staats in batting average.
Along with plenty of talented players, the team’s culture propelled them to success.
“We’re a family,” sophomore outfielder Tyler Oliaro said. “We play like a family. We’ve got a special group.”
From beating powerhouse D.H. Conley on March 24 to a redemption win over Jordan High School on April 20 to winning the conference championship game against in-town rival East Chapel Hill on April 27, almost every player and coach described a different moment as the most meaningful, proving the Tigers’ season was electric and filled with excitement.
“This team competed hard every night,” Tuck said. “They bought into our style of play and played hard for each other. We lost out in the second round of the playoffs this year and, even though losing is disappointing, this team fought hard all the way to the end. It was a great group of players to coach.”
The Tigers proved themselves to be a threat to the 4A East, winning 2-1 on March 24 over previously undefeated D.H. Conley.
“[Beating D.H. Conley] was when we realized this team was special,” Staats said. “They were a really good team and were the school that our coaches came from, so it was a really fun and important win for the program.”
The team also prided themselves in an upset win over Jordan High School on April 11. The team’s first game against the Falcons was tight, with a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning in which the Falcons hit a walk-off ground ball to win the game. The Tigers redeemed themselves in a 3-2 home win a week later.
Despite losing seven seniors, players and coaches are optimistic they can compete for another conference title next year.
“We are losing some key players; it will be important for us to try and get off to a good start at the beginning,” Tuck said. “We have high hopes of defending our conference championship and seeing if we can make another run deep in the playoffs.”
Stand-out returners include junior utility player Thomas Roberts, who led the team with 24 total runs; sophomore first baseman James Staats, who led the team with a 100% fielding percentage on 128 attempts; and junior infielder Evan Hansen with the most stolen bases on the team this season with 20.
“I’m already excited to start next season,” Hansen said. “I’m really looking forward to playing my senior year with the group that we have!”
