J eremy Eldred ponders the question — what are your expectations for the 2024 season? — for a moment, and then two. He begins to speak and stops to think some more. After another moment he starts to provide his thoughtful answer. “The expectations are to build on what we started last year,”
Eldred, the veteran skipper of the Gilbert baseball program, said. “We realize that we’re going to be a younger team this year, but these guys know the process and how it works. We may take our lumps early, but it’s not how we start the season. It’s how we finish it.” Eldred, who guided the Tigers to the Class 2A state champion-
ship game in 2020, is quite fa- miliar with building toward something. Last summer imme- diately comes to his mind, and he grins for just a moment when he thinks back to 11 months ago. In 2023, Gilbert didn’t exactly storm out of the gate blazing. Following a season-opening win over Roland-Story, the Tigers
dropped five of their next six games as they methodically learned what it takes to be suc- cessful. Eventually, by the time July rolled around, they had more than found their footing. Gilbert finished the 2023 regu- lar season with six consecutive wins, highlighted by a thrilling 6- 5 victory over eventual Class 4A state runner-up Ames, and then
Returning letter winners (left to right): Tommy McGuire, Coal Myers, Alden Short, Josh Grouwinkel, Ean Eldred, Blake Bell, and Brayden Howard.
SUMMER 2024 | GAME ON 5
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease