With a new season closing in, the BHS Baseball team is starting up for another spring season. This time, the Demons will be supplemented with a roster full of returning seniors.

BHS Senior Isaac Schell has been living his dream of playing high school baseball at a high level. What Schell learns on this journey will propel him into a baseball-related career.

“I have given baseball my all in the last ten plus years,” Schell said. “I would not take a single thing for granted. I have been a part of some really good teams and some not so good. I think over the course of my playing career it could open up a coaching career for me down the road. I wanna teach kids how to play the game the right way and teach them things all coaches taught me growing up.”

With last season coming up just shy of success at the state tournament, Schell and his teammates have set some ambitious goals.

“My personal goal for this upcoming season is to just improve,” Schell said. “I wanna improve on the mound when I pitch and get better at the plate to become a full-time starter. We have a lot of boys coming back who have varsity experience, and I think that we have a chance to be a really good team with the boys we have.”
Schell and his teammates are coming together in the off-season, to give themselves a boost in their conditioning and physical strength needed to be a successful team. 

“This offseason I wanted to gain some more muscle and get stronger,” Schell said. “So I work out at the gym as often as I can. I now throw plyo baseballs which have helped me with arm care and building arm strength. For the hitting part of the game, I will go hit at a field or have a friend or teammate go with me to the golf dome and hit balls for an hour or so.”

Since freshman year, Schell has come far from his days of youth baseball, and up through the junior high years of the Babe Ruth league where he continued his drive and passion for baseball.

“I think I have grown a lot as a player,” Schell said. “I would say since I have entered high school the coaches brought my game to a higher level and got the best player out of me. I think also looking back at the tee-ball days, playing many different positions that I am familiar with playing those positions if asked. I trust my coach to put me in the best position to have success.”

With the start of the season closing in, the big question of college baseball playing opportunities hangs over Schell and his family. A successful season can certainly have an impact on his future playing whereabouts.

“As of right now I am undecided on what my future career holds,” Schell said. “I don’t wanna rush any college decision. I wanna take this baseball season like it might be my last. If I play well then we can talk about college and see what that holds. But as of now, I have not made any college decisions.”

Currently, BHS Baseball has not taken home a state title in several years, and with plenty of returning upperclassmen with plenty of experience, they believe they can make a deep playoff run. 

“After last year which had lots of ups and downs with an 8th place finish, I think we are right in the middle of the pack,” Schell said.

Overall, Schell is simply just a student of the game, and his love for baseball starts with BHS. This being his last year, it will be hard for him to say goodbye to the school that gave him the experience of high school baseball.

“I value the people that enter the building because everyday is special,” Schell said. “All the coaches admire winning of course because that’s a tradition of BHS, but they are about each player individually. They just want us to succeed whether it’s a job down the road, college, or even a sport we might continue playing at the college level.”