Hall baseball to rely on established arms as Red Devils look to continue regional streak

The Hall baseball team relied on a strong pitching staff last season as the Red Devils won their second regional title in a row.

While the Red Devils lost ace and Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Stater Max Bryant to graduation, Hall coach Tom Keegan expects the pitching staff to once again be a strength for the team.

“We are returning some established arms at the top of the rotation with a chance to develop some other arms as the season unfolds and games begin to stack up,” Keegan said.

Senior Izzaq Zrust will be one of Hall’s top arms after a strong season last spring when he was 6-2 with a 2.02 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched.

Sophomore Luke Bryant was 2-2 with three saves in 20 innings, while junior Braden Curran had a save and a 4.13 ERA in 20⅓ innings.

Sophomores Jaxson Pinter and Geno Ferrari, juniors Greyson Bickett, Jack Curran and Clayton Fusinetti and senior Jack Jablonski could also see time on the mound.

“Zrust was part of a staff that really anchored us last season,” Keegan said. “We are expecting more of the same and more from him this year. Luke Bryant returns and will most likely see a bump in innings pitched. He was put in several tough spots last year primarily as a relieve and he delivered. Braden Curran started to come along as the season progressed last season and he will be expected to be one of our starters on the mound. Sophomore Noah Plym will also get innings on the mound and has shown that he can navigate the strike zone and challenge hitters.”

While the pitching staff has some veterans, Keegan said the offense will be a work in progress.

“We don’t have the big bombers,” Keegan said. “The expectation is we will compete in the box, get on base any way we can, let the situation and scoreboard dictate what we do and try to generate/sustain a team offense better than what we were able to do last season.”

Luke Bryant will be among the team’s top weapons after hitting .443 with 31 runs and 16 RBIs as a freshman, while Jablonski (.355 avg., 17 RBIs), Pinter (.393), Zrust and Bickett also are expected to be key contributors.

“Based on what we saw out of them last year, Bryant, Pinter and Jablonski are our returning hitters and will find themselves at the top of the order,” Keegan said. “From there, we are going to find out how the rest of the lineup shakes out.

“Zrust showed the ability to handle the bat and move the ball. Greyson Bickett can be a kid who competes at the plate, but saw limited at-bats last year because of a hand injury.”

The Red Devils will look to continue their run of postseason success that includes five regional titles, two sectional titles and a state title in the last seven seasons.

“Our goals are the same every year, to compete, grow together as a group, learn and execute roles and to be playing our best baseball come May.”