Jackson Liberty baseball swinging for school history

Brett Carroll
Staff Writer

The Jackson Liberty High School baseball team is off to a historic start to the season.

Now the team’s coach, Jim Rankin, hopes that the season will provide a memorable ending.

“We set a few goals when the season began,” Rankin said. “Our first goal was to win our conference, which we’re in line to do if we continue to take care of business. So, that’s something that’s in our control. We want to win 20 games this year. That’s something a Jackson Liberty team has never done before. So, we hope to do that this year. We also have to Ocean County Tournament, the Shore Conference Tournament, and the state tournament. I would love to say that we should go out and win all of them, but we’re look at the seedings and try our best to advance as far as we can.”

Despite a  loss, 11-7, to Lacey Township High School in Jackson on May 1, Jackson Liberty remains focused.

“We’re off to a great start,” Rankin said. “We’re 11-2. Can’t ask for a better start than that. These guys have done a great job of taking it day-by-day. Naturally, with high school kids, you’re going to have a let down here or there. That’s just the nature of it. I think they’ve done an outstanding job of refocusing and taking game-by-game. Our chemistry is really good, and I think that’s been a big part of our success.”

Rankin loves how Jackson Liberty is playing overall, but he did admit that the team has a few hitches to its swing.

“As a team, it’s tough to say,” Rankin said. “I would have to go by it individually, top to bottom. Pitching wise, we’re doing a pretty good job. We’re filling up the zone. Throwing strikes. I credit those guys for being able to do that. Hitting wise, I think a couple of our guys are getting a little antsy at the plate. We have a couple of guys that are in a bit of a slump, which I’m sure every team is dealing with at this point. It’s just a matter of settling down and letting the game come to them. Some of our guys are pressing and trying to get out of their slump instead of letting it come to them and doing the things that they’re good at. When you’re winning this much, it tends to mask a lot of issues you might have. But, I think these guys do a great job of resetting and focusing on the game at hand.”

Rankin pointed out that Jackson Liberty offers a well-balanced attack  from the roster.

“We’ve been getting a lot of contributions from a lot of guys,” Rankin said. “Notably, our leadoff hitter, [junior] Connor Keenan. He’s off to a great start. I think he’s hitting in the ball park of .475. He’s also playing a great center field. [Senior] Matt Pickus is our number one guy on the mound. He’s off to a 4-0 start this year, with a 1.7 ERA. He’s picking up where he left off last year. Our catcher, [junior] David Melfi, is hitting about .420. His on-base percentage is ridiculous. I think it’s around .600 or something like that. Those are the guys that stand out, but we’re getting contributions from guys one-through-nine. You can’t have the start that we’ve had without everyone pitching in. I’m really proud of all of these guys.”

The Lions will continue their surge towards school history when they travel to Toms River High School South on May 11 for a 7 p.m. game.