Football veteran Jack Lausch, Cubs manager's son Jack Counsell show promise for Northwestern baseball
Northwestern Wildcats baseball is in the second year under head coach Ben Greenspan, whose mission is to help lead the program to sustained success.
This year's team focused on doing just that with some new faces — including a pair of guys named Jack who know a thing or two about handling the spotlight.
"I think we have a lot of baseball rats on the team that love to play," said Greenspan, "and when we execute, it usually translates to wins."
Amongst the baseball rats on this year's team is 'Cats football quarterback Jack Lausch. This is Lausch's first season playing baseball at Northwestern after focusing on football the last three, and starting 10 games last year.
"When [football] Coach [David] Braun and I sat down with Jack about a year and a half ago to talk about this, 'He was the one who said if anyone can do this Jack Lausch can do this, because I'm confident about the way he goes about his business.'"
"Like getting back into it, it's just about getting better every day," Lausch said, "and finding ways to think more like a baseball player move more like a baseball player, and just kind of get back into that form."
Lausch was rated the No. 1 outfielder in the state by Perfect Game while at Brother Rice, and had draft interest out of high school. He committed to playing baseball at Notre Dame before switching to Northwestern on a football scholarship, but never lost sight of being a dual-sport athlete.
"It was an opportunity I wasn't going to let go by again, and you know, I'm so grateful for the opportunity — and it's been so fun to get back into it," Lausch said. "But the biggest part is just like the relationships that I've built, right? Like I have two sets of locker rooms, two sets of teammates — and so I've just gotten to know so many great people, and that's my favorite part about it."
One of the Wildcats baseball teammates Lausch has enjoyed getting to know is Jack Counsell.
Counsell is a Michigan transfer who now gets to play a few miles from Wrigley Field — where his father Craig Counsell, of course, manages the Cubs.
"You hear the opposing dugouts sometimes, and he's managed that very well, and I don't feel like that gets to him at all," said Greenspan. "If you didn't have last name, you'd never know the connection in baseball."
"Couns is a Midwest guy, so I think there's kind of like a gritty baseball player from the Midwest," said Lausch. "I think we share that, which is pretty cool."
Counsell is a graduate of Whitefish Bay High School right outside Milwaukee. As for whether or not being close to family played a part in the Wisconsin native's decision to transfer, he said he was pleased with how things worked out.
"Definitely a bonus — like I can see my parents whenever I want," he said. "My grandpa came to the game yesterday, and then like every once in a while, my mom will just drive up and bring me meals, which is pretty nice."
Sharing the love of a sport he grew up around with his family is a bonus for Counsell too.
"There's a lot of baseball talk — especially when it's me, my brother, and my dad, it's almost nonstop," Counsell said. "But you know, we all want to talk about it, so there's not really anything bad about it. You know, maybe mom will intervene and be like, 'All right, that's enough.'"
Focusing on winning is something Counsell and his teammates can't get enough of either.
"We're a very close group and just sticking to that, and sticking to what coaches are teaching u," said Counsell. "We've got a lot of potential. I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."
That is something both Jacks seem to do every time they step up to the plate.
Jack's Counsell's brother, Brady Counsell, is also a baseball player — currently playing at Kansas.
Northwestern baseball will play a game at Wrigley Field against Ohio State on May 9.
