On his right forearm, St. Laurence senior Daniel Coyle has a single tattoo.
It honors the late Tristan Grabner, a childhood buddy who died about 10 years ago.
“We were pretty close friends,” Coyle said after the Vikings’ 9-1 home win against Reavis on March 20. “We hung out a lot. Our families are really close still.”
The tattoo keeps Grabner’s memory alive and keeps Coyle grounded.
“It means a lot, especially on the baseball field,” Coyle said. “It reminds me why I’m playing. I have the opportunity to come out here every day. Baseball is a fun game, and not a lot of people get that opportunity.”
Few have had as much opportunity to play as Coyle. In one of the state’s elite programs, the Lewis recruit has been a starter since he was a freshman in 2023.
Last season, the third baseman and closer helped the Vikings win their first state title, in Class 3A. This spring, they’ve moved up to 4A and are No. 1 in Prep Baseball Report’s all-class rankings.
St. Laurence has plenty of star power, including Division I recruits Cory Les (Louisville), Jimmy Benson (Texas Christian), Ryan Wollschlager (Pepperdine) and Sam Chin (Ball State), as well as several more college prospects.
Even on that talented roster, Coyle stands out.
“He’s, by far, our heartbeat,” Vikings coach Pete Lotus said. “He’s the loudest guy on the field. But the thing about Daniel is, it happens at practice, too. And I think everyone respects him a bunch.
“… He’s always just been a guy that — you can really put him anywhere on the field and he’s going to find a way to be successful.”
Coyle went 2-for-3 against Reavis with a double, a walk, a run and an RBI. Orlando Vazquez (3-for-3, run, two RBIs), Evan Panther (1-for-2, two walks, two runs, three RBIs) and Les (2-for-4, triple, run, RBI) also had big days at the plate.
Benson worked the first three innings for the win, allowing one run on one hit with four walks and three strikeouts.
Coyle has welcomed taking on a bigger voice over the years.
“As a freshman, it was more of (just) do my job, play whatever role I had,” he said. “Now, as I’ve kept going, I need to be the leader of the team and lift everyone else up along with my friends around me, So I think I’ve got to play with a lot of energy.”
Part of being a leader is rallying the Vikings in their move to the state’s top class.
“A lot of people are down on us, saying 3A and 4A (are) so much different,” Coyle said. “I mean, we beat every 4A team we played last year, so I don’t think that’s going to change too much. It’s just playing baseball.”
Reavis bounced back from the St. Laurence loss, shutting out Alton 4-0 and Bradley-Bourbonnais 1-0 the next two days in southern Illinois.
“The score (against St. Laurence) might not show it but I’m proud of our boys,” Rams coach Kyle McKinley said. “We competed, we’ve got a lot to grow from. … I think we have a tough schedule, very probably one of the toughest nonconference schedules around here, and it gets us ready for conference and postseason play.”