By Peter Fusilero

Sports Editor

The varsity baseball program just announced their All-Conference players that include juniors Grant Miller, Danny Devereux, Patrick Donahue and senior Michael Smith.

It’s a very prestigious award in the area and head coach Ross Giusti is very happy for his four players.

“We couldn’t be prouder as a coaching staff,” Giusti said. “Every kid selected has done things right on and off the field. They treat others with respect, they treat their teammates with respect and they have a love for the game.”

For Miller the award was very special to him especially only being a junior.

“As a junior you have to perform pretty well because a lot of seniors get the nod over juniors for All-Conference,” Miller said. “Knowing that I did what I needed to do to be an All-Conference athlete means a lot to me.”

According to Giusti, Miller showed a lot of authority as catcher and put up some great numbers while batting.

“You couldn’t ask for anything more from Grant,” Giusti said. “He was a great leader behind the plate and he got hot. He had multiple games with multiple hits and RBI’s (.360 batting average). His statistics stood up real well with the other catchers in the area.”

As for Smith, he had worked to get better and better at his pitching ever since joining the baseball program. It was an award very well earned.

“Smith started on the freshman B team and just continued to work hard,” Giusti said. “He was in a position to deserve All-Conference and we couldn’t be happier.”

According to Giusti, Devereux was one of the top relief pitchers in the conference who had a 4-1 record.

“Multiple times we might have been down four or five runs, but he would come in the fourth inning and completely shut the door,” Giusti said. “Just his presence out there boosted our energy.”

Leadoff hitter and third basemen Donahue was a player who produced at every opportunity.

“He had numerous base hits and a walk-off homerun against Palatine,” Giusti said. “He was a mark of consistency.”

Being that three of the four All-Conference players are juniors, Giusti is optimistic for next year.

“There were times when we had eight juniors in our lineup,” Giusti said. “This [class of 2015] group has a lot of work to do. We lost some games this year that I think next year with experience we can win. This group learned a valuable lesson that in order to achieve results, you have to work for it.”