Bullpen ace a big hit at plate, too

‘As a hitter I think like a pitcher, and as a pitcher I think like a hitter,’ sophomore right-hander says.

Jordan Jankowski is a double threat to the Miami University baseball team's opponents – on the pitching mound as the closer and at the plate as the DH. Contributed photo

Jeffrey Sabo Jordan Jankowski is a double threat to the Miami University baseball team's opponents – on the pitching mound as the closer and at the plate as the DH. Contributed photo

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 12:51 PM Friday, May 7, 2010

OXFORD — Miami University sophomore Jordan Jankowski must feel like he is split in half.

He is two different players: the bullpen closer for the RedHawks baseball team who tries to intimidate batters, and he is their main designated hitter who tries to intimidate pitchers.

It’s even more complicated than that.

“As a hitter I think like a pitcher,” Jankowski said, “and as a pitcher I think like a hitter.”

That’s what happens when you hang out with the pitchers during part of practice and with the hitters during part of practice, getting to know what’s inside their heads and using it against their kind on other teams.

The results speak for themselves.

Jankowski leads Miami in saves (seven) and is tied for second in home runs (seven). He is the team leader in earned run average (3.81) and is among the leaders in batting average (.300).

Not surprisingly, Jankowski is crucial to Miami’s drive to earn one of the eight berths in the Mid-American Conference tournament, to be held May 26-29 in Chillicothe.

Miami and Northern Illinois are tied with the seventh-best record in the MAC at 8-10 and Ohio is just one game behind. The RedHawks have a three-game series at home this weekend against East Division leader Kent State.

Jankowski has pitched for as long as he has played baseball but also was a catcher in high school and only recently has he started thinking of himself primarily as a pitcher.

“I think I would have more success (at the next level) as a pitcher,” he said. “I never really embraced pitching until I came here.”

At Peters Twp. High School in McMurray, Pa., Jankowski set the state record with 36 career homers.

“I got a lot of offers from the Big 10 and Big East and a few SEC schools,” he noted, adding that some wanted him only as a pitcher and he wasn’t ready to give up catching.

As a freshman at Miami, Jankowski played some at catcher but eventually became the team’s bullpen ace, recording six wins and five saves.

“I like going out there with the ball in my hand, deciding what’s going on,” he said. “When you’re on the mound everyone’s looking at you, all the guys are counting on you, and if you make a bad pitch and the guy gets a hit it’s your fault.

“To be a closer you have to have a bulldog mentality out there,” he said. “You can’t be afraid to make a mistake ... I would describe myself as a very unpredictable pitcher. I have confidence in myself, so I am confident I can throw any pitch on any count.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.