{"id":674546,"date":"2026-04-13T05:21:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T05:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/674546\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T05:21:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T05:21:29","slug":"aidan-schopper-powers-oak-lawn-past-reavis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/674546\/","title":{"rendered":"Aidan Schopper powers Oak Lawn past Reavis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up as a Chicago Cubs fan, Oak Lawn\u2019s Aidan Schopper<\/a> has always considered Wrigley Field to be the most special place in baseball.<\/p>\n

Getting a chance to play there was something Schopper had long pictured himself doing but never actually expected to happen. That fantasy, however, became a reality Sunday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I dreamed of as a kid, playing on this field,\u201d Schopper said. \u201cI\u2019m a diehard Cubs fan. It felt amazing to play here and even better to come away with a win. Overall, it was a great experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even put it into words. It was probably one of the best days of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schopper made what was already sure to be a memorable day even better by producing at the plate. The senior infielder connected for an RBI triple and a run-scoring single, helping the Spartans rally from a five-run deficit to earn a 10-7 win over Reavis in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Jack Dempsey<\/a> finished 2-for-4 with a run and four RBIs for Oak Lawn (7-6). Danny Strelow<\/a> went 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI. Illinois-Chicago recruit Justin Canvin<\/a> threw the final 1 1\/3 innings without allowing a run to pick up the win in relief.<\/p>\n

\"OakOak Lawn’s Aidan Schopper (19) connects for a triple against Reavis during a nonconference game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson \/ Daily Southtown)<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting that final out to win a game at Wrigley Field, I don\u2019t know if I can really explain the feeling to people who aren\u2019t baseball players,\u201d Canvin said. \u201cIt was just like, \u2018What just happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour heart\u2019s beating, the adrenaline is going crazy, your throat is sore from screaming. It felt really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Suburban College recruit Parker Zasada<\/a> went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs to lead Reavis (8-6). Anthony Perez<\/a> added two RBIs and Adrian Ortega<\/a> contributed an RBI double.<\/p>\n

The South Suburban Red rivals played a nonconference game on the special occasion.<\/p>\n

\"OakOak Lawn’s Aidan Schopper (19) looks to make contact against Reavis during a nonconference game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson \/ Daily Southtown)<\/p>\n

The game started about an hour after the Spartans and Rams watched the Cubs rally from a 5-0 deficit for a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Schopper was inspired by that when the Spartans also got down 5-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kept our composure and kept our energy,\u201d Schopper said. \u201cIn the Cubs game beforehand, the Cubs had a crazy comeback. We felt that energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we just knew that\u2019s what it was going to take from us \u2014 to have that same energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schopper ripped a go-ahead triple into the left-field corner to cap a six-run fifth inning for the Spartans and give them a 6-5 lead.<\/p>\n

\"OakOak Lawn’s Aidan Schopper (19) looks up after connecting on a pitch against Reavis during a nonconference game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson \/ Daily Southtown)<\/p>\n

Flying around the bases in a big-league ballpark felt surreal to Schopper.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pure adrenaline, man,\u201d Schopper said. \u201cI was just running as fast I could, trying not to stop. I think it could have been all four bases, but I was happy to get three.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he added an RBI single in the sixth, Schopper had his first two-hit day of the season. He\u2019s put a slow start to the spring behind him, raising his batting average from .125 to .278 over the last five games.<\/p>\n

Oak Lawn coach Bill Gerny<\/a> has been delighted to see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was really struggling at the start of the season,\u201d Gerny said. \u201cBut he\u2019s taken all the coaching, he\u2019s listened, he\u2019s made adjustments, and it\u2019s great to see him have this success.<\/p>\n

\"OakOak Lawn’s Aidan Schopper (19) reacts after a triple against Reavis during a nonconference game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson \/ Daily Southtown)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt couldn\u2019t happen to a better kid. He\u2019s one of the nicest kids in our school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schopper played a big part in capping a dream day for the Spartans, which began with them hanging out together in the stands during the Cubs game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve played with these guys since I was 12 and now I\u2019m a senior and this is it,\u201d Canvin said. \u201cSo, having this day with all the boys, it felt really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

And winning was the icing on the cake for Schopper.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many of my idols have played here,\u201d Schopper said. \u201cI\u2019m going to remember all of this forever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up as a Chicago Cubs fan, Oak Lawn\u2019s Aidan Schopper has always considered Wrigley Field to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,9604,30645,3263,1358,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-674546","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-daily-southtown","14":"tag-daily-southtown-sports","15":"tag-high-school-sports","16":"tag-local-news","17":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116395723919686360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674546","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=674546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}