Tigers Bow out to Blue Devils, Set Sights On the Future

June 6, 2025 by Cameron Palmer

Chagrin Falls bowed out to Wickliffe, 8-1, in a Division V district title game on May 28 behind the Blue Devils’ two four-run rallies in the third and fourth innings.

Chagrin Falls wrapped up the 2025 season with a 12-16 record, and in a season where things once felt grim, starting the year 1-6; ending the season with a 12-10 record is a bright spot for the future.

“When we started the year, we didn’t expect to be very good. We had a lot of injuries and young guys playing, so there were times that were rough at the beginning of the year,” said Chagrin Falls Head Coach Michael Sweeney. “By the end of the year, we were playing great baseball. Today just wasn’t our day, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of these guys for what we’ve accomplished. The way we played (at the end) was far superior to the way we started the year.”

With that kind of season under the belt of this team, which will bring back all but five players for the 2026 season, shows the leadership of the seniors as they exit the program.

“It starts with the seniors. They provided great leadership for all these guys, along with our captain Henry Cimperman,” Coach Sweeney said. “They didn’t let the other guys settle for average, and they wanted to be great. We weren’t always great, but that’s what we strived to be. We just continued to get better and better as the season went on.”

Cimperman, as mentioned earlier, was one of the Tigers’ strongest bats throughout the trials and tribulations of the 2025 campaign.

At the dish he slashed .420/.491/.693 with a 1.184 OPS (On-base percentage + slugging), racking up 37 hits, 15 of which went for extra bases, including a trifecta of homers and a team-high nine doubles.

The junior captain also drove in a team-high 29 RBI, and finished with the second-fewest strikeouts in the second-most at-bats this season.

Despite all the stats, the biggest role Cimperman played was stepping up to help lead the team.

“It starts in practice,” he said. “We drill consistency and do the fundamentals. Ever since my freshman year, there’s been upperclassmen enforcing that, the way a coach would, and I think it’s good to have those role models that can coach us up. The biggest thing is that our underclassmen all want to get better; they all listen to advice we have, which is one of the biggest contributors to that.”

Cimperman’s senior year will be his fourth go-around on the varsity squad, bringing even more value with his experience as Chagrin Falls works into 2026.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned is whatever Coach Sweeney says, goes,” Cimperman said. “I’ve gained a ton of respect for him over the years, and I think he’s a really good coach. I have nothing but good things to say about him. Listening to him, hearing his advice, and repeating it to other players is what has made our team good.”

Regardless of the results in this season, through some injuries and a long season, the returning players have all earned important varsity playing time that can elevate the squad next year.

“We’re going to have a lot of guys coming back, we’re going to be excited,” Sweeney said. “The expectations will be different as a coaching staff, and probably for other teams that play us. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We just have to stay healthy. This year, we had three guys not play that would have been important players on our team and had roles for us. Staying healthy and having everyone come back healthy will be a huge deal for us.”