Last Look: Oak Forest Baseball Season Filled With Highlights

It was Friday early afternoon at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, and the Oak Forest baseball team rushed the field. The Bengals had just defeated Nazareth Academy in the Class 3A state semifinals, and they were heading to state championship game.

The Oak Forest crowd went crazy in the stands, lending its support to the Bengals team that was playing for all the marbles for the first time since 1985. The dream playoff run for the Bengals was alive for another day.

The Beginning of the Season

With only two seniors on the Oak Forest team, the underclassmen had a big responsibility to rise up and play beyond their age, and the upperclassmen, Bobby Sheppard and Tim Barry, had a big responsibility to teach and lead them.

The start of the season was rough at times. On Saturday, April 2, Oak Forest traveled to Lincoln-Way West and lost 12-2.

“After Lincoln-Way West about two and a half months ago, I didn’t know if we’d win another game,” coach Thaddeus . “It was a very low point in our season, but athletics in my opinion is very much like life. When you hit an adversity situation, how you deal with it develops character.”

The Bengals put the loss in the past and grew from it. Gatton referred to the team’s 17-4 win at Howie Minas Field against Bremen on April 30 as the moment when he knew his team was coming together.

“As a coach, when Bobby Sheppard in the dugout said, ‘That’s what coach wanted. This is how he’s wanted us to play. This is what he’s been talking about all along.’ That’s when you finally you sit back and say, ‘You know what, they’re where you want them to be,’ ” Gatton said.

Barry’s Record Day and a Conference Title

A subplot to the season was Barry’s quest to break the state records for home runs and RBIs. Just when the Bengals were playing very well, Barry’s bat got hot. On May 4 in a doubleheader against T.F. North, Barry slammed four home runs.

Then, . His two-run home run cleared the left field wall and Barry stood alone atop the IHSA record books.

Meanwhile, Oak Forest was on a roll. The win against Bremen gave the Bengals a 12-game-winning streak. Despite losing three of four heading into the playoffs, Oak Forest won the South Suburban Conference with an 18-1 record.

The stage was set for the playoffs.

The Postseason

Junior Kyle Linares, who had been shut down as a pitcher during the season because of tendinitis, came back for the playoffs. He and Kyle Funkhouser made a dynamic duo on the mound, leading Oak Forest to regional, sectional and supersectional championships.

The most dramatic moment came in the Lincoln-Way West Sectional championship game, .

Last Friday, Funkhouser pitched a gem, leading the Bengals to a 3-1 win over Nazareth Academy in the state semifinals. Oak Forest would be playing for the state championship.

was disappointing for the Bengals, they were proud of how much they accomplished. “It’s so hard to explain how far we came,” Sheppard said. “It’s just phenomenal and I wouldn’t trade it. I still think we went down fighting. It’s not like we ever gave up and that’s all you can ask.”

Sheppard will be playing ball next year at UIC. He hopes to bring all that he’s learned from Oak Forest with him. “From when I was playing for (former) coach Czar (Ron Czarnecki) to Gatton, they always preached hustle and do the right thing,” Sheppard said. “I’ll carry that over and hopefully it makes me a better baseball player in my career.”

Gatton said Sheppard will be missed.

“Bobby Sheppard, I’ll never forget that kid,” Gatton said. “He’s the kid that’s always lost in the weeds with the other two big-boppers, and he just means so much to the team this year. It’ll be sad to see him go.”

While Barry and Sheppard will be gone, they and the rest of the Bengals left their imprint in Oak Forest history. Just like they were chasing the 1985 Oak Forest team to be the next to go to state, teams in the years to come will be chasing the 2011 Bengals.