Highland baseball program will take center stage at Glik Park this weekend
Glik Park will be the place to be this weekend for alumni/players and fans of Highland High School baseball.
There will be multiple opportunities for Highland High School baseball players past and present as well as fans to celebrate some of the most successful teams in the program’s history.
At 7 p.m. Friday at Glik Park, the 2020 Highland Bulldogs will take on the 2015 Highland Bulldogs squad that captured the Class 3A state championship in Joliet that spring.
The 2020 Bulldogs players such as Jack Korte, Tyler Werner, Chase Wilson and Carter Wiegman will test their mettle in an exhibition game against the 2015 Bulldogs state champ club led by the likes of Will Greenwald and Grant Geppert.
“Our 2015 team is kind going to be augmented by alumni guys from other classes,” Highland coach Joel Hawkins said. “So, it’s not just the 2015 guys, it’s several of those along with some others, so it’s going to be fun. It will be kind of interesting to see how that goes. It (also) gives our current guys a chance to get together one more time.”
Then, on Saturday, the Bulldogs will host their annual alumni game at Glik Park in a 6 p.m. exhibition that will feature alumni players from all seasons of HHS baseball. The Bulldogs program has been in existence since 1945.
“On Saturday night we’re doing a regular alumni game which is open to any of our baseball alumni guys and our goal on Saturday night is to honor especially the 1990 regional championship team back when coach (Frank) Stillwagon was coaching the team,” Hawkins said.
“I was the JV coach then and we had a group of seniors that year that won the conference that won it 1988, won it 1989, then they won a conference and a regional (championship) in 1990 and really an exclamation point that got the great baseball tradition going here at Highland.”
1990 Highland club will be honored
During the alumni game, there will be a stoppage in play and a special ceremony in which Hawkins will recognize the 1990 club and they will be honored for their contributions to the program’s successful history.
“I have been able to talk to almost all but not quite all (of those players) and we’re hopeful for and looking for a good representation of them from that group,” Hawkins said. “I am definitely going to recognize the members of that team.”
Hawkins said the main purpose of the ceremony will be to show the program’s appreciation for the 1990 club’s success on the field.
“We just want to say thank you for the way they represented us and really got us started so many years ago,” Hawkins said.
Prior to the 1990 team’s regional title season, Highland won regional baseball championships in 1958, 1972, and 1974.
Banquet honoring 2020 team caps off weekend
To cap off the weekend, on Monday, the 2020 Highland baseball team will be honored with an awards banquet in Highland.
“This gives us an opportunity to recognize them (the 2020 team) and see them play a little bit,” Hawkins said. “They’ve got a real big weekend and I kind of did it like that to make sure they understand just how important they are to us and hopefully see them and connect with them this way.
“It’s gonna be neat.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 10:33 AM with the headline "Highland baseball program will take center stage at Glik Park this weekend."