In a season filled with ups and downs, new baseball Head Coach Tyler Zunkel and his team look to finish the season strong and lead the Cyclones to a playoff berth.
The team started the season picking up some important wins, but lost a lot of games from the end of March to the middle of April. However, the team never gave up hope and was able to find a way out. The Cyclones started racking up some more wins in their quest for the postseason.
The team has seen some major improvement in Zunkel’s first year as head coach, improving from a 9-37 record last season to 21-28 with five games remaining (as of Thursday).
Looking back on his first season with the Cyclones, Zunkel is proud of what his team has been able to achieve.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Zunkel said. “I’m happy with the season as a whole. It’s definitely gone better than I expected.”
The team’s effort never diminished, and making the postseason was always the priority.
“Our goal is just to make the tournament,” Zunkel said. “It’s always been to make the tournament. That’s the number one thing.”
Xavier Aguilar, sophomore pitcher for Moraine, said he was confident that the team could clinch a spot come the end of the season.
“One hundred percent, the goal is always to make the playoffs. That’s been the goal every single season I’ve played,” Aguilar said. “I have no doubt in this team that we could do it.”
“They hate losing. Hopefully I’ve engrained them with that, just hate losing.”
Tyler Zunkel, Moraine Valley baseball head coach
“I love these guys. I feel like the comradery that we’ve had is definitely a lot better than last year, and I have all the faith in us,” Aguilar said.
Sophomore outfielder Ryder Johnson also highlighted the importance of finishing strong and clinching a playoff spot: “Win out, make the playoffs and make a run.”
The Cyclones struggled and excelled in many phases of play throughout the season.
“Pitching I would say is a weakness. We just don’t throw enough strikes,” Zunkel said. “That’s the main thing with us, we walk a lot of guys. We just put too many guys on base for free.”
Moraine Valley allowed a total of 191 walks this year compared to their opponents, which allowed 34 less with 157 walks.
Coach Zunkel also highlighted hitting as an area where he feels the team can improve on. Moraine Valley has a batting average of .295 but has only put up 10 home runs, 69 doubles and 14 triples, compared to their opponents’ average of .318, 73 doubles, 7 triples and 27 home runs.
One thing that the team has been great at throughout the season is always fighting and giving everything to win games.
“I think the strength is definitely the heart and grit they play with. We’re gritty, though. We have a lot of heart on this team,” Zunkel said. “They hate losing. Hopefully I’ve engrained them with that, just hate losing.”
That passion could be seen throughout the season, but especially towards the end of March through the middle of April. The Cyclones went on a streak of bad losses, only picking up three wins in a stretch of 15 games.
Many teams would easily crumble from a run like that, but the Cyclones kept strong and believed in each other and the process. And now they are competing for a playoff spot.
With this season coming to a close, Coach Zunkel is also looking to next year. He believes the Cyclones can improve and start to build a real culture that student athletes can follow.
“Next season, I’ve got a bunch of guys returning. I have a lot of freshmen right now; I only have eight sophomores,” Zunkel said. “They know the standard, they know my culture that I’m trying to set, so they will come back and they’ll set it for me.
“This year I had to set the standard. I had to set the culture and show them how it is. With a bunch of returners, they’ll be able to set it for me so it’ll be a player-lead culture next year.”
Zunkel also feels recruitment has gone well and will help the Cyclones improve in areas where they struggled at times this season.
“I’ve got a bunch of good pitchers coming in, hopefully a couple transfers,” Zunkel said. “A couple of bounce-back guys coming in from other universities because they also see the vision.”
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