Name: Gaige Brown

School: Herscher

Sport: Baseball

Year: Junior

Why he was selected: The Tigers had a 4-0 week, one in which Brown had a hit in each game. The three-year starting junior tallied three doubles, a triple, four runs and three RBIs. He also pitched in two games, totaling 5⅔ shutout innings on a hit, two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Now a junior who’s been a day-one starter since your freshman year, what’s your favorite thing about representing a Herscher baseball program with such proud tradition and a high standard?

My favorite thing about representing the Herscher baseball program is I get to play for the same team my dad and uncle played for when they were in high school and the same coach.

You get the play for one of the winningest coaches in state history in coach Eric Regez. What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned from him, baseball or otherwise?

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Coach Regez is to do the little things right and go back to the fundamentals of everything and you’ll win games.

Your dad also played for Herscher and for Coach Regez. What kind of old stories has he shared with you about his time as a Tiger?

His most memorable time was when he went to state in 1995.

While you’ve been a reliable hitter for years, your pitching prowess has really taken the next step this year. What’s allowed that?

During the offseason I worked a lot on mechanics and spent a lot of time in the weight room, which increased my velocity some.

As it usually is, the competition in the Illinois Central Eight Conference has been top notch once again. Do you have a favorite conference rivalry or place to play?

My favorite place to play is our home field because it’s one of the nicest in the area. I always look forward to playing Wilmington and Coal City because they are consistently good and I like to compete against them.

As the regular season winds down over the next couple weeks, where do you and the Tigers have the biggest room for growth as you look to make a run?

I think in order for us to make a deep playoff run we need to have consistent pitching with a good defense behind our pitchers.