Photo courtesy of Jared Lortie
May 11, 2023
A pitcher and first baseman for the Wildkits, Jared Lortie will continue his academic and athletic careers at Hamilton College in Canton, NY, come next fall.
Unlike most of Evanston’s varsity baseball team, who played for Evanston’s feeder program from the time they were nine years old, Lortie did not live in Evanston until he was 12, having spent most of his early childhood in Tokyo.
But upon coming to E-Town, Lortie was met with open arms.
“Even though I was born in Japan and moved here, these teammates made me feel like I was included and belonged,” says Lortie. “Since being in Evanston, my teammates are basically my family.”
Incidentally, meeting and bonding with his new teammates are what Lortie looks forward to most on Hamilton’s team.
“The teammates and the people I’m going to meet at Hamilton through playing baseball is definitely the most exciting part,” says Lortie.
Since Hamilton is a liberal arts college offering a wide variety of courses, Lortie is undecided about his field of study but is looking to potentially major in Economics and minor in Spanish.
And his advice to younger students? Don’t be afraid to explore all of what ETHS has to offer.
“Try everything,” says Lortie. “Freshman year, I tried doing DECA, a business club, and I absolutely loved it. Even though I was nervous at first. I wanted to go beyond my comfort zone. Trying out new things would be my advice.”
With his senior baseball season still ongoing, Lortie looks forward to achieving what has been long considered the Wildkit Nation’s ultimate goal—a state championship. This year, that aim appears well within the realm of possibility after Evanston has been ranked as high as third in the state by Sloche.
“Coach Joe, he’s been saying this is the year that we’re gonna win state. I totally believe in that,” says Lortie. “We work really hard every day, whether it be morning lift, morning practice, pregame practices—all that. We’ll definitely have to focus on every inning as Coach Consiglio preaches, and winning state would be our biggest goal.”
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