By John Raffel
Two goals been accomplished by the Ithaca Yellow Jackets baseball team. But it’s time for Rollie Carman and his squad to pursue a few others as the team focuses on the final weeks of the season.
As of late May, Ithaca was getting close to the 20-win number after achieving a 19-6 mark.
“The season is going very well and way better than expected,” Carman said, adding that among the special highlights was taking first place at the Carson City-Crystal Invitational on May 12.
A second goal, winning the TVC West title, was later accomplished.
Various players have been having excellent seasons for the Yellow Jackets. Jake Greene started with an 8-1 record and has a 1.11 ERA. His fastball has been frustrating for opposing players to handle.
“I’ve had pitchers who’ve thrown much harder but no one who understands pitching as well as he does,” said Carman.
Mike Mallory has also had a strong season on the mound for Ithaca with a 5-1 record.
At the plate, Ithaca has enjoyed some outstanding hitting. Luke Bunting is hitting around .450. He has an excellent batting eye; doesn’t strike out much,” Carman said. “He’s a three-year varsity hitter and is only a junior.”
Jordan Hessbrook is also having a big season for Ithaca, batting around .450 in his junior season, his third as a starter.
“He’s an outstanding baserunner and has a natural feel for the game,” Carman said. “He’s the smartest player on the team.”
Sage DeMull is also hitting the ball nicely this season for Ithaca. “He performs well under pressure, is a dedicated and hard-working player, plus a smooth fielding infielder,” Carman said.
Base-running has been an obvious strength for the Yellow Jackets.
“We have over 200 stolen bases for the year,” Carman said.
But Carman would like to see higher numbers.
“We need to work on hitting,” he said.
Carman was hoping his team can win the TVC West title. The Yellow Jackets had looked unstoppable after a 15-0 and 2-0 twinbill sweep over St. Louis in mid-May and went on to win the championship
The subsequent doubleheader was a key contest against Breckenridge, at a time when Breckenridge, Ithaca, and Valley Lutheran had been battling for the top spot. The Jackets won the first game 6-1 but lost the second 8-5. In the opener, Ithaca had only three hits but took advantage of five Breckenridge errors.
In the second game, Breckenridge got out to a 4-1 lead in the first inning and outhit Ithaca 10-7. The Huskies were able to offset committing two errors.
In the postseason, the Yellow Jackets hope to make a bid for district and regional titles.
In the districts at St. Charles, Ithaca will face Carson City-Crystal, with the winner taking on Shepherd, the 2009 and 2010 state champions, in the district semifinals. Teams on the other side of the bracket are Chesaning, St. Charles, and St. Louis. The district champ goes to the regional on June 9.