The potential is real and so is the opportunity. Cathedral High School baseball long has been one of the state of Indiana’s top programs, and the 2025 Irish have the ability and potential to rank in that group again. They must overcome adversity and a tough midseason stretch to do it. “I like this group a lot,” Irish baseball coach Ed Freije said. “We’ve got camaraderie. It’s a good group.” The Irish, after a 5-0 start, had a 7-5 record through April 21 while playing through early-season injuries against a tough schedule. They were ranked No. 8 in the Indiana High School Coaches Association Class 3A state poll as of April 14. “We’re doing some good things and there were obviously some things we definitely need to work on,” Freije said. “We’ve had some inconsistency in the lineup with some moving parts and some availability of guys. We’ve played some good opponents and we’re competing well at times, but just in some cases we’re not playing well enough to win.” The 2025 Irish are led by a strong senior class that includes: *Eli Bennett (.389 average through 11 games, 13 RBI). Also a pitcher, Bennett hadn’t pitched through mid-to-late April as he returns from an early-season injury. *Catcher Bo Cooper (.241, one double, three RBI). *Pitcher Ethan Dorsey (1-1), who – like Bennett – is working his way back from early-season injury issues. *Thomas Mariani (.280, two RBI). “We’ve got some guys with experience, for sure,” Freije said. “It's a group that is coachable. They enjoy each other. There are opportunities ahead for us and the schedule doesn't get any easier, but at the end of the day we're going to compete our tails off.” Junior Eli Sinsabaugh, a key player the last two seasons, also is returning from injury and Freije said his return could help balance a young lineup. “Other guys are getting opportunities, and we’re continuing to plug and play and see what we have,” Freije said. Also key for the Irish in ’25: A strong junior class that includes Cameron Koers (.306, eight RBI), Landon Hughes (.281, seven RBI), Michael Gallagher (.360, five RBI) and Chase Nickols (.256, three RBI). Sophomore Connor Christiansen was batting .419 with nine RBI through 12 games. “We have a big junior class,” Freije said. “We have guys who are competing for spots within and pushing each other which I think is always good. We've got guys that are hungry to compete from a baseball standpoint and love the game. They're passionate about the game. “We have a few sophomores in our lineup that are continuing to grow and developing. They're going to get experience and they're going to learn fast. We're kind of sophomore-junior heavy in our lineup and we’ve got to be better defensively, for sure. We have to execute better offensively. Those two have been glaring things at this point.” The Irish as they move into the second half of the ’25 season also will depend on a deep pitching staff that includes Christiansen, Hughes, senior Junior Belford, sophomore Bo Blondi, sophomore Henry Haley and freshman Charlie Johnson. “We say year in and year out we want to build with pitching and defense,” Freije said. “We’ve pitched for the most part well enough to keep us in games and keep us competitive. I don’t love how we’re defending right now. We have to be better. We have some young guys in some big spots. “If we can keep teams in that three-four run range, I like our chances. In our losses, we haven't been able to do that, then it becomes a tossup. In order for us to be good, we have to defend and we have to execute offensively.” And while adversity hit the Irish early in season, and while improvements must be made in key areas, Freije said the Irish remain a team with lofty goals and aspirations. “We're only as good as we’re playing,” Freije said. “We have to be better and we know that. We as a program know that. When things come into place, when we get guys back when we get guys fully healthy, this group this team … some opportunity will be there. “There are always going to be high expectations and we have high expectations for ourselves. We want to take the field and compete and win every opportunity we have but the reality of that happening is pretty small. “We also want to look at getting better each day and learn from what we’ve done and learning from where we’re at.”