Pitching Depth, Power Bats, and Poise: Greenhills Baseball Asserts Its Strength

With 10 straight wins, a top-10 state ranking, and a lineup led by college-bound seniors, the Greenhills varsity baseball team is in the midst of one of its most impressive seasons in recent memory.

After reaching the state quarterfinals in 2024, the Gryphons returned this spring with higher expectations. And throughout the season they’ve been meeting, and often exceeding, every one.

“We thought we’d be good,” said head coach Tom Ward. “But the fact that we’ve been able to beat so many strong Division 1 and 2 teams? That’s a little bit beyond expectations—and really exciting.”

Greenhills pulled out two big wins on the road against perennial powerhouse Birmingham Seaholm last weekend (April 26). In its next matchup, on Tuesday, April 29, the team extended its winning streak to 10 with a statement-making sweep of conference rival Cranbrook Kingswood—rallying from behind and scoring 16 runs in the final two innings to win the opener 21–12, then riding steady defense and clutch pitching to win the second game 4–2.

It’s not just one thing fueling the Gryphons’ run. The top of the order is stacked with senior leaders: Fran Love, Jeremiah Bowman, and Talen Pilz have all committed to play in college, and each is having a standout season. First baseman Kade Mason, though uncommitted, is putting up All-State caliber numbers of his own.

“We’ve essentially got four college-level players leading the lineup,” Ward said. “It’s tough to hold them down for a full game.”

Bowman had a breakout performance in the Cranbrook doubleheader, launching a home run and racking up five hits and five RBIs across both games. Pilz, meanwhile, dominated from the mound in game two, throwing a complete game with nine strikeouts. In the first game, Love struck out 12 before Bowman stepped in to close.

But the story this season isn’t just about the stars; it’s about depth. Greenhills’ pitching staff runs five deep, with junior Nick Roney emerging as a potential Division I college arm and juniors Charlie Rich and Ethan Berry proving more than capable in high-stakes games.

“We’re lucky to have five guys we trust in any situation,” Ward said. “Our depth on the mound gives us options—and confidence.”

Younger players are also stepping up. Sophomore Twoey Bullock has played nearly everywhere on the field and has added a spark to the offense, while freshmen and sophomores continue to earn innings against older, deeper teams.

“We’ll go up against Division 1 schools with 40 kids in their baseball programs,” Ward said. “We’ve got a handful of upperclassmen and a bunch of underclassmen holding their own—and that’s special.”

The team’s maturity is showing in more ways than the stat sheet. After a rough first game on a challenging natural surface led to 13 combined errors and an early deficit, the Gryphons didn’t fold—they rallied from a 9–5 hole to win the game.

“That’s where we’ve grown the most,” Ward said. “A couple years ago, that’s a loss. This year, we stayed focused, we didn’t panic. There’s a saying we’ve been using: ‘Don’t get mad at thunder.’ Control what you can control.”

Still, Ward knows the path ahead isn’t easy. Greenhills has aspirations to win a conference title and make another deep postseason run, but the road will likely include matchups with several of the state’s top 15 teams to reach the state semifinals.

“To get where we want to go, we have to keep improving,” he said. “We’re not the fastest team, so we’re being creative on the base paths. We’ve got to keep tightening up defensively. And we need the bottom of our order to keep developing.”

But with experience, talent, and resilience, this year’s team has already shown it has what it takes to compete with anyone.

“Last year we got to be the underdog,” Ward said. “This year, people are coming for us. And we’re ready for the challenge.”