Baseball, known as the great American pastime, captures the heart and soul of new fans each and every day, all while maintaining its appeal to long-time players and supporters. One player, however, has remained dedicated to the sport for longer than most.

Andrew Wise, a Junior at Freedom, is incredibly passionate towards baseball and has remained that way for quite some time.

“I began playing when I was four years old, when my parents signed me up, and I’ve been playing ever since,” explained Wise.

Presently, Andrew plays third base on the Freedom Varsity team, and has been playing for them since his sophomore year. As for this year, Andrew has some goals in mind for how he would like the season to go.

Andrew noted, “I would like to win Freedom High School a district championship. But it won’t be my own doing – we have a good team that will work together to achieve this feat.”

This will be a challenging goal to accomplish, as Freedom Baseball has yet to win a District championship. However, Andrew is confident that this year, Freedom stands an excellent chance at bringing one home.

He explained, “Under the superior head coaching of Coach Baudendistel, we will finally achieve what Freedom Baseball has been longing for.”

Andrew enjoys playing as well as making a positive impact on those around him.

Junior Evan Sagaro, a fellow teammate, stated, “Andrew Wise is a fantastic ball player and a better friend.”

Off the field, Andrew keeps busy by focusing on school, as well as working with animals.

The ball player explained, “I try to do my best to excel in academics while maintaining a decent social life. However, I also have to fit this around my work schedule. I work at an animal clinic where I assist in taking care of a variety of species of animals ranging from birds to cats to dogs.”

After high school, however, Andrew does not intend to play college ball.

He stated, “After high school, I would like to play recreational baseball, but I want to focus primarily on my education.”

As for the present, you can watch Andrew hit dingers starting September 20th, when FHS Baseball takes on Plant to open the season.