Profile: Ryan Gensheimer helps pitch Skyline to the next level

Coach Jon Evans is building a baseball program at Skyline High School that may just be ahead of schedule. The Eagles enjoyed an impressive 2022 season that included a District title and a trip to the Regionals.

Skyline defeated Saline 8-5 in the opening round of Districts before knocking off Huron 6-5 in a wild 12-inning game. Despite being exhausted, the Eagles found another gear to knock off host Dexter 6-2 in the championship game. Dexter had swept Skyline in the regular season by lopsided scores of 6-1, 8-2 and 8-0.

Skyline then lost a close Regional opener 2-1 to Battle Creek Lakeview, who would go on to reach the D-1 semifinals.

One of the reasons for Skyline’s success was strong pitching and one of those aces Evans had in his hand was Ryan Gensheimer, who will be back next year to help continue the building process.

Gensheimer says Skyline success started off the field.

“Yeah, I would say we were all very good friends,” he says. “Our goals were to win, have fun and play our best.”

And the challenges?

“Hitting well was a challenge early and we started a little slow,” he says. “But we got better as the season went along. This team had a good attitude, stayed positive and worked hard.”

Gensheimer, 17, had an impressive junior season for the Eagles. In 47 innings on the mound, he pitched to a 2.979 ERA with 51 strikeouts. He also had a fielding percentage of .889. He was named First Team Honorable Mention All-SEC Red.

His highlights included a no-hitter against Monroe and a complete game shutout against rival Huron.

Gensheimer, who also plays on the infield and sometimes in the outfield, batted .271 as a sophomore and pitched to a 3.818 ERA with 22 strikeouts.

He started playing baseball when he was just 7 years old.

“I tried a lot of sports but always was best and had the most fun at baseball,” he says.

The son of Stephanie and Todd Gensheimer, Ryan is looking forward to his senior year and help taking Skyline to the next level. He then hopes to pitch at the next level.

“I plan to go to collegel,” he says. “I have not picked a college but I definitely plan on playing baseball. The transfer portal makes it a lot harder to go to a college and play early, so picking a school is more complicated than I expected. I may end up at a smaller school.”

But first there is more building to do.

PHOTOS BY LON HORWEDEL