WINONA — A band of brothers who just happen to be triplets are playing a big role in turning the season around for the baseball team at a high school in southeastern Minnesota.
Triplets Noah, Jake and David French look and act differently, but they share their love of playing baseball for Cotter High School. Their older brother, Sam, is an assistant coach for the team and graduated in 2015.
“I’ve played ball with them longer than anyone here,” Sam said. “There is stuff I know about them that the other coaches don’t know, or other players don’t know. Little quirks that they need to work on. Or maybe an instinct.”
The team got off to a tough start but has played well the second half of the season. It won five games in a row and seven of eight before a close loss Friday.
The Frenches played a big role in turning the season around. Jake is a strong third baseman, and David provides leadership as catcher. Noah pitches and plays outfield.
“Jake was always bigger. He was a stud when he swung the bat,” said Don Freeman, their head coach, who has mentored them in the sport throughout the years. “The other guys are good ballplayers. Really competitive. David loved the game. He’d get upset when things weren’t going well. Noah was the free spirit. Three different kids.”
The triplets have always played on one team, even if it got annoying to always be together.
“As we got older, we realized why our parents had us be on the same team all the time,” David said. “Just for transportation issues alone.”
Sam said his brothers respect his authority, even if they don’t like it.
“There will be times where I’ll yell at them and they’ll look at me, and they don’t want to obey me, but they will because they know they have to,” Sam said.