\u201cHe always told me that he wasn\u2019t the loudest player but that baseball can always be played the right way,\u201d Koehnemann said. \u201cHome runs are great, but he always cared more about things like hitting a double into the gap and then having a teammate drive you in. That was how he thought baseball should be played.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koehnemann\u2019s emphasis on fundamentals was honed as Sandberg hit ground balls to him in the driveway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking routine plays was something he stressed \u2014 and not overshadowing how important it is to make them and not turning them into harder plays,\u201d Koehnemann said. \u201cIt seems strange to say, but routine plays can be harder than hard plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Scouts (3-2) already know they can count on Koehnemann to make plays in the infield. His fielding percentage is 1.000 through the first five games of his first varsity season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can completely trust his glove,\u201d Lake Forest coach Mike Nilles said. \u201cHe\u2019s a cork in the middle of the diamond. He\u2019s very fundamentally sound and always has his glove close to the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s equally good on slow choppers or on plays up the middle or in the hole. We\u2019ve been very pleased with how he\u2019s played.\u201d<\/p>\n
One defensive play in particular, which clinched a win during the Scouts\u2019 trip to Kentucky last week, has stuck with Koehnemann.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe turned a 6-4-3 double play, and with me making the pivot and throwing over to end the game was a rewarding feeling,\u201d he said. \u201cTo me, a defensive play like that is the most important moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LNS-L-BAS-LAKE-FOREST-0401_005_16020a.jpg\")
Lake Forest\u2019s Owen Koehnemann, right, talks with teammates during a practice at the school’s west campus on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Abra Richardson \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n
The art of hitting has also been instilled in the 5-foot-7, 150-pound Koehnemann, who may not be driving the ball over the fence yet but does have a walk-off hit already. He\u2019s batting .267 and hasn\u2019t struck out in 15 at-bats.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I had to hit it hard somewhere and that the ball just needed to get to the outfield,\u201d Koehnemann said of his two-hopper through the hole on the left side that ended the Scouts\u2019 10-9 win over Fern Creek, Kentucky. \u201cIt felt really good to help my team out in that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hitting the game-winner earned Koehnemann the team\u2019s chain of champions, which is passed from player to player for making a positive impact on a win or a practice. That was his third varsity game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nervous before our first game, but it helped that we won 8-0,\u201d Koehnemann said. \u201cAt the start, I struggled a little because it takes some getting used to. But I definitely don\u2019t feel overwhelmed, and by now I\u2019ve gotten much more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koehnemann\u2019s arrival represents a milestone for his family. His father, B.R. Koehnemann, who is Sandberg\u2019s stepson, played at St. Mary\u2019s, and his younger brother Nathan Koehnemann is a freshman second baseman on Lake Forest\u2019s junior varsity team.<\/p>\n
![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LNS-L-BAS-LAKE-FOREST-0401_008_248263.jpg\")
Lake Forest\u2019s Owen Koehnemann throws the ball during a practice at the school’s west campus on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Abra Richardson \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n
For B.R. Koehnemann, seeing the two oldest of his three sons take on the mantle has been gratifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never pushed them into baseball and always wanted them to do what they\u2019re passionate about and to play other sports too,\u201d B.R. Koehnemann said. \u201cBut we\u2019re obviously a baseball family, and with them being only 18 months apart, they\u2019re pretty competitive with each other and push each other, to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that they\u2019re getting older, we\u2019re really excited for what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like many other kids his age, Lake Forest sophomore second baseman Owen Koehnemann has prepared to play baseball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,3263,5163,11501,10637,17196,27085,1358,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-658919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-high-school-sports","14":"tag-illinois","15":"tag-lake-county","16":"tag-lake-county-news-sun","17":"tag-lake-county-news-sun-sports","18":"tag-lake-forest","19":"tag-local-news","20":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116335598000286188","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}