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09/13/2018 12:00 AMJake Crawford admits that he wasn’t too keen on taking the mound during the early days of his baseball career. However, throughout the ensuing years, Jake has progressed into a steady lefty who’s helped the Hand baseball team become one of the top squads in the Southern Connecticut Conference.
Jake started pitching when he was 10 and eventually grew to enjoy the experience of toeing the rubber. After earning a varsity spot with the Tigers as a sophomore, Jake took things to the next level in his junior season by going 8-1 with a 1.28 earned-run average and 41 strikeouts in 43.2 innings pitched this spring. Along the way, he helped the Tigers notch 19 victories and advance to the SCC Tournament final for the first time in program history.
Jake, who was named a team captain for his senior season, says that he now embraces the challenge of winning those one-on-one battles with opposing batters.
“Over the years, I’ve learned to be more aggressive, both as a pitcher and at the plate,” says Jake. “It’s like a fight when you face a hitter. You have to go after batters and be the one to attack first.”
Jake bulked up a bit while preparing for his junior campaign. He believes that not only boosted the firepower in his arm, but also helped him stay healthy through the long haul of the spring season. Jake also has a never-give-up mentality that helps him thrive on the hill.
“I played varsity as a sophomore, but I think I grew more as a junior. In the offseason coming into my junior season, I gained size, but it helped me become more durable, and my velocity increased,” Jake says. “Mentally, my dad [Gary] has helped me out by telling me to just keep it up when it comes to baseball.”
While there is certainly a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of a pitcher, Jake likes how he gets to control the game when it’s his turn in the rotation. Jake just focuses on pitching his best every time out in order to increase the Tigers’ chances of putting a win in the books.
“You are the focal point as a pitcher and so, if someone hits a home run, it’s your fault, but you can also shut a team down,” says Jake, who also plays summer baseball for the Connecticut Grind. “I like controlling the pace of the game and the attention on the mound. I know that if I give a solid performance when I’m out there, then I can help the team.”
Jake is also looking forward to taking on additional responsibilities when he leads Hand as a senior captain next year.
“I have to step up and motivate others when needed,” he says. “I love just helping out my teammates and the team win.”
Hand Head Coach Travis LaPointe praises Jake for putting in the extra reps on a year-round basis. LaPointe says that Jake wants to follow up his great junior year on the mound by contributing to the Tigers in other ways next season.
“Jake is driven, passionate, and has an incredible work ethic. He sets the bar for what offseason preparation should look like for any student-athlete,” says LaPointe. “He is left-handed pitcher that locates well, has late movement on his fastball, and has great command off his off-speed stuff. He is a bulldog when he competes. Jake is a talented offensive player and will compete to be our starting first basemen. I believe he will emerge as one of the best two-way players in the SCC conference.”
Jake feels that the positive environment in Hand’s dugout played a huge part in the team earning runner-up status in the SCC this year. Jake says the Tigers were inspired by another club’s championship run, and he’s hoping the baseball squad can hang its own banner in the gym in 2019.
“Coach LaPointe said going into last year the goal was to create a different atmosphere here, similar to the one the football team had, which I think was why we went far,” Jake says. “I feel like getting to the SCC final was better for us, since we got a taste of it to help us do better and, hopefully, win a state title next year.”