By Wayne Witkowski
Jackson Liberty High School’s baseball team is geared up for the beginning of state tournament play.
Despite starting three freshmen, Jackson Liberty, which is 9-9 overall, was 8-7 at the 15-game state cutoff for NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III, with spots guaranteed to teams with winning records.
Jackson Liberty was also seeded 20th in the Shore Conference Tournament and travels to No. 13-seed Brick Memorial High School May 18.
The Lions were eliminated by Toms River High School North, 6-1, May 2 in the Ocean County Tournament quarterfinals after beating Manchester Township High School, 5-0, in the opening round. Matt Pickus pitched a five-hitter with no walks and 11 strikeouts against Manchester.
As pitching becomes more of a factor in the compact tournament schedule, coach Jim Rankin is optimistic about his team’s chances to advance far. His team has gotten its share of victories even with leading pitcher Brandon Pallante not playing the position the entire season due to an injury, although he has been able to play as a regular starter at first base.
“Our pitching has been solid all season long,” Rankin sad. “We’ve gotten really good efforts from sophomore Matt Pickus and senior Ryan Van Wickle. Senior Mike Zak also turned in two very good back-to-back outings in wins over Jackson Memorial [High School, 6-3,] and Union City [High School, 4-1]. As a staff, our ERA is under 3.00, which is very positive.”
Rankin admitted hitting has not measured up as well, and it figured in a four-game losing streak during which Jackson Liberty was outscored, 24-6. It ended when the Lions beat Donovan Catholic High School, 11-2, May 12 in a Shore Conference B South Division game.
Although Rankin expected a lot from his pitchers going into the season, hitting was a concern and remains that way.
“Hitting has been suspect but has showed life at times. Kenny Pommerencke is turning in a nice season so far,” Rankin said. “Mike Zak has also given us some pop in the middle of our order.”
Over the first 16 games, Pommerencke was hitting .354 with seven stolen bases and six RBIs. Zak was hitting .389 with three doubles and four home runs with a team-best 15 RBIs.
“Our defense has hit a little bit of a rough patch [lately],” Rankin said. “We are starting a lot of young players, two of which are playing new positions: [freshmen] David Melfi at third base and Daniel Sofield at second base. Ryan Van Wickle has been solid at shortstop for us, and Ken Pommerencke has been exceptional in the outfield (mostly in right field).”
Tightening up the defense is the key for success in tournaments for the Lions.
“Moving forward, we need to shore up our defense because if we continue to make the mistakes we are making and give teams extra outs, it will find a way to burn us in tournaments playing good competition,” Rankin said. “We also need to find a way to get more people on base and apply more pressure in the baserunning and bunting game. This is our strength but without baserunners, it hinders that approach. ”
That means younger players will need to step up, including sophomore Bill Hart, who is starting his second season at catcher, freshman Connor Keenan in left field and junior Kyle Tavaska in center field and batting leadoff, as the Lions look to finish strong and surpass last year’s 10-12 season.
