The season is long, and there’s plenty of potential. So, if Cathedral High School baseball didn’t start the 2024 season quite as hoped, Ed Freije’s not close to panicking. The finish is what will count. And with work and perseverance, that finish can be special. “We’re continuing to learn,” Freije said in early April. The Irish, long one of Indiana’s top high school baseball programs, started the season 4-4 against strong pitching and quality teams – with losses to Franklin Central, Homestead, St. Xavier and Lafayette and McCutcheon. The Irish had a victory over St. Xavier, Homestead, Zionsville and North Central. “We have to grow and become the best versions of ourselves because we're not there right now,” said Freije, in his eighth season as the Irish’s baseball coach. “We're a team first and foremost that needs to pitch and defend. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance. At least a couple of our losses this year, we definitely didn't do that and it showed.” “We’ve had a couple of instances where our pitching hasn't been as sharp as it needs to be and then a couple where our defense hasn't been as sharp as it needs to be. We’ve still had a chance in a couple games – just not enough to overcome ourselves.” One reason optimism is high for the Irish in 2024: A strong pitching staff that figures to be the core of one team, a staff that includes: Senior righthander Jackson Reeves (4-3 in 2023, 2.73 earned run average), senior righthander Neal Parrish (5-0, 1.22), junior lefthander/first base Eli Bennett (6-1, 3.64) and junior righthander Ethan Dorsey (missed much of 2023). Bennett has committed to the University of Indiana. “We feel pretty good about four guys returning for us on the mound,” Freije said. “We’ve got guys who will throw pretty significant innings and big innings for us and some other guys that we're going to count on to relieve and get hopefully some other starts and good opportunities.” The Irish are also led by a core of senior leaders, a group led by fourth-year catcher J.T. Stiner, who has signed to play collegiately at University of North Carolina-Wilmington and who was batting .292 with a home run through eight games. Other key seniors include third-year outfielder/left-handed pitcher Patrick Mazur (.467 through five games), infielder Max Finn, outfielder Max Lindner, infielder Ty Carroll, outfielder/first base Luke Spencer and infielder Jackson Bethel. “We have four arms that give us four good starters and guys we should be able to count on,” Freije said. “Between that and a number of position guys returning, on paper we feel pretty good about it. We also have to plug in some guys. “We have some young guys and inexperienced guys that are learning and early in the season we’re continuing to learn.” Also key for the Irish in 2024: Junior outfielder/righthanded pitcher Zander Carnahan (.318), junior catcher/infielder Bo Cooper, infielder Thomas Mariani, junior right-handed pitcher Junior Belford, sophomore infielder Eli Sinsabaugh, sophomore infielder Chase Nickols, sophomore outfielder/right-handed pitcher Landon Hughes and freshman infielder/right-handed pitcher/outfielder Connor Christiansen. “You hope we can capitalize off last year's experience and show some growth from last year to this year,” Freije said. “On paper we're a Top 10-caliber team and program, and that's where we should be. That's not where we are right now, just as far as the way we're playing and the way we've come together up to this point. “That's the message to our guys: We have to continue to work, we have to continue to learn, we have to continue to grow. At times we've seen some areas where we're a little bit exposed or young or inexperienced.” And while the Irish’s start hasn’t been what the program hoped, Freije said hope remains strong for a team with potential for a run to the postseason and beyond. “We're not the same team we've been in the past; no team is,” he said. “Each team kind of takes on its own identity. We have to work through some things and learn some things about ourselves and about each individual. We're continuing to do that and we're showing glimpses and showing ways that we can compete at a really high level at times. We’re also seeing significant deficiencies that we need to improve on. “We're working through it. We have high expectations for ourselves and from others. We embrace that and try to go to work every day to be the best versions of who we are.”