TWINNING: ND's Eilbachers continue their baseball journey

BY SHAUN CHORNOBROFF / For Jersey Baseball Nation

Logan Eilbacher’s college recruitment started as a freshman, earning interest from schools across the Division I, Division II and Division III level. His twin brother Lance took a different route. He didn’t break into the varsity starting lineup alongside his brother until his junior year. Even if their journeys to collegiate baseball are much different, the destination is the exact same.

The Notre Dame High School standouts spent the majority of their childhood sharing the field, and will continue to do so, both committing to travel down to Washington D.C., and play Division III baseball at Catholic University.

“I think it’ll be exciting,” said Lance Eilbacher. “It’ll definitely draw us a lot closer than how we are now. It’ll be very exciting.”

While Logan Eilbacher broke into the Notre Dame starting lineup in the 2021 season as a sophomore, his brother dominated down in junior varsity.

When the two finally reunited on the varsity level, both brothers found success. In the 2022 season, Logan, a catcher, and Lance, an outfielder, made light work of Mercer County pitching, each hitting over .400 and combining for 38 RBIs (stats according to nj.com), leading Notre Dame to the semifinals of the Mercer County Tournament and the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A State Tournament.

Despite the overall success for both brothers, the transition for Lance was not seamless. In the beginning part of the season, he lost his starting spot in the outfield and was benched for multiple games. He eventually regained his place in the lineup, going 4-for-4 with a home run in his return. The varsity success, while newfound, was not a surprise to Logan Eilbacher, who says he always believed his brother could play at the varsity level.

“It was good to see him have a good year last year,” Logan said. “Even through his tough times he always had a smile, a good attitude, always really working for it. It was good to see him last year succeed.”

As a result of his junior year success, Lance finally got on the radar of colleges. After a productive summer ensued, it only elevated his status. When it came to the recruitment process, the brothers took different approaches, saying they didn’t intend to go to the same school, even if that is how it ended up.

Logan, who is going to study biology and eventually head to medical school, was the first of the twins to commit to Catholic. For Lance, he was between two schools, Catholic and a conference rival, quipping that he was going to see his brother on the field “with him or against him.” Catholic University’s sports management program ultimately pushed him to join his brother.

Logan announced his commitment on his Instagram on Sept. 12, 2022. Lance Eilbacher publicly revealed his decision on Sept. 26, exactly two weeks after.

“I think it’s pretty cool growing up with your twin brother, playing with him, going through all the stages together,” said Lance Eilbacher. “I think putting in that work together really made us closer.”

The Eilbacher twins have one more season of high school baseball together and the eventual goodbye to Notre Dame High School is not distant. However, their journey on the diamond together is far from its conclusion.