Jonathan Alder freshman pitcher Marlee Jacobs looks down at her wrist band for the pitch Saturday against Granville. The Lady Pioneers will play Philo in the Division II regional semifinals Wednesday, 2 p.m., at Pickerington Central High School.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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It’s no secret that pitching was going to be somewhat of a question mark heading into the 2019 season for the Jonathan Alder High School softball team.
After all, the Lady Pioneers lost Katelynn Perkins to graduation last spring.
All she did was pitch them to a Division II regional championship and another berth in the state Final Four.
Alder head coach Dave McGrew admits that while he knew he had a pair of good pitchers joining the program as freshmen (along with a sophomore returning from 2018), he wondered if they would be ready to fill Perkins’ big shoes.
“We had Allison Caldwell coming back this year,” said McGrew. “She’s got all the tools to be a great pitcher.
“We also knew we had a couple of freshmen in Marlee (Jacobs) and Jaden (Phelps) joining us.”
The Alder boss said when the team got together for fall workouts, some of the older players had concerns.
“The upperclassmen knew that whoever was going to be our No. 1 pitcher, that person was going to inherit a great ball club,” said McGrew. “I think they wondered how it was going to go.”
Both Jacobs and Phelps worked their way into the starting lineup this spring… Jacobs as the No. 1 hurler and Phelps as the starting designated player with a spot in the batting order.
“Marlee had a great travel season last summer and pitched well for us during the fall,” said McGrew.
As far as the older players accepting the youngster as their starting pitcher, that took a few more months.
“It happened when we went on our spring break trip to Florida,” said McGrew. “We played and beat two out-of-state champions from last year and that’s when things really started to jell for us.
“The girls really bonded on that trip and came together as a team.”
The Lady Pioneers did not lose a game during their trek to the Sunshine State.
As a matter of fact, the only contest they’ve lost so far this season came during the regular season against North Union.
Alder will take a 26-1 record into Wednesday’s regional semifinal game against Duncan Falls Philo. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Pickerington Central High School.
JA will act as the visiting team for the game, so when Philo comes to bat in the home half of the opening inning, they will face a frosh pitcher with some pretty impressive numbers on her resume.
Jacobs will take a 24-1 record and a 1.30 ERA into the game. She’s struck out 120 batters and has issued only 25 walks.
Jacobs said she wanted to be a pitcher early in her diamond career.
“After I played 8U, I wanted to pitch,” she said.
She rose through the ranks to the point where she has become the top hurler for one of the best D-II teams in the state.
This past Saturday’s 6-3 victory over Granville in the district championship game was her biggest so far as a high school hurler
“As a freshman, I obviously hadn’t been in a high school game of that caliber,” she said. “I was a little nervous going in, but I think I settled down.”
“A year ago, Marlee was pitching club and middle school ball,” said McGrew. “This past Saturday, she had practically the entire Jonathan Alder community watching her and I think she had some nerves.
“However, she held it together pretty well.”
A solid Granville squad touched Jacobs for seven base hits. She struck out a pair of batters and issued a trio of walks.
A stellar Jonathan Alder defense, though, came to her rescue on several occasions to help her win the game.
Jacobs also contributed to the victory with more than just her work in the circle.
A .430 batter this season, she drove in four of Alder’s runs.
McGrew said Jacobs brings a good deal of talent to the pitching table.
“Marlee moves the ball well and she has all the pitches in her arsenal,” he said. “She’s got the fastball, curve, drop, rise, changeup and a screwball.
“She has the ability to hit all quadrants of the plate.”
Jacobs knew what worked best for her during the district championship game.
“I was spotting my fastball pretty well and I kept them off-balance at times with my changeup.”