Highlander Trio Score Straight A’S Off The Diamond

A baseball team must be strong up the middle to win.

Being smart up the middle can’t hurt, either.

Close to 20 students are expected to graduate from Shadle Park this spring with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

Three of those valedictorians play up the middle for the Highlanders baseball team.

Second baseman Christiaan Ross, shortstop Brett Corigliano and center-fielder Steve Schaber make music together on the field as Shadle vies for first place in the Greater Spokane League.

Come June, at Shadle’s graduation, they’ll make poetry together.

Shadle’s valedictorians are composing a poem from which each honoree will read a stanza or two during the ceremony.

“It’s kind of commenting on our highlights from school, like this (baseball),” Schaber said.

The three straight-A students, all Spokane natives, have known each other and played together since junior high days at Salk and Glover.

“This year is special for us because we’ve played together for so long,” Ross said.

Schaber and Ross are three-year varsity starters. Corigliano is a two-year starter who played behind a solid senior infielder as a sophomore.

Many baseball experts consider the up-the-middle positions, including catcher, to be a thinking person’s spots.

“That’s true, especially for Christiaan and Brett,” Schaber said. “These guys are some of the smartest players you’ll find.

“But the outfield comes naturally to me. I’ve never thought of it as a thinking position.”

“I think, for all of us, we’ve set high standards,” Corigliano said of the classroom and ball field.

“I know how hard we’ve worked at everything we do,” Corigliano said.

Schaber and Ross came close to B’s last semester in a calculus class. Corigliano has had a few “slide-by’s.”

“We all believe grades are the No. 1 priority in our lives,” Ross said. “Personally I believe in being a perfectionist. It starts in high school and goes throughout your life.”

The trio receive little ribbing from teammates because at least three other Highlanders have GPAs near 4.0.

All three valedictorians are hitting near .350 as Shadle wrangles with University, Rogers and Central Valley for the league title.

Baseball is their first love. For them, autumn and winter are seasons to get in shape for baseball.

Summer, they hope, carries a smooth transition into American Legion baseball, which Schaber said is less intense than school ball.

Schaber plans to attend Brigham Young University, where he figures the baseball competition is probably too stiff for him.

Corigliano, visited by a Whitworth College representative last Thursday, may attend Washington State University if his chance at college baseball falls through.

Ross said he’s undecided about college but will soon decide.