By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Peters Township (McMurray, Pa.) junior Jordan Jankowski is rapidly emerging as one of the nation's premier power hitters. The 6-1, 200-pound catcher already has belted four home runs in one game - tied for second in high school history - and three in another. He has hit 12 homers in just 17 games while driving in 35 runs and batting .478.
His recent four-homer explosion - in a 15-8 victory over Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) - came just one foot shy of tying the national record (five), because he lined a shot over the right field fence which curved foul by a foot. He then singled on the next pitch.
There were no cheap shots, either. In the second inning, he slammed a 370-foot solo homer to left center; in the third he hit a 360-foot drive to right center with two on; in the fourth he settled for a single; in the fifth he hammered a 400-foot solo shot to left center; and in the sixth he belted a 380-foot shot to center with one on. He finished 5-for-5 with five runs and eight RBIs.
"I thought about it (a four-homer game), but I never thought it would happen," Jankowski admitted. "After the game, it really set in and I said, `wow!' I went home, did my homework and went to sleep.
"I'll probably get treated more as a threat than before," the cleanup slugger projected. "Maybe I'll get the Barry Bonds treatment," he laughed. "If they walk me (he has 13 already), at least I'll get on base. Three (of the four homers) were on curve balls. I have quick hands. I look for fastballs. I haven't seen many fastballs since, though."
Coach Joe Maize says the secret to his star's power hitting is "his bat speed. It's unbelievable. He has natural strength, but still has a lot of potential to get stronger and bigger. He definitely has a home run-type swing, but he's learning to be more patient at the plate and cut down on his swing with two strikes."
Jankowski has a strong throwing arm and also is the Indians' No. 1 pitcher. He threw as high as 91 miles per hour for his summer team last year, but normally can hit at least 88. He had a 6-1 record with 40 strikeouts and just eight walks as a sophomore, but this year is only 3-3. One of his losses came on a rainy day and another on a day during which it snowed.
Maize has sent pitcher Chris Peters (Pirates) and outfielder Brian Simmons (White Sox) to the major leagues, but he noted that Jankowski is his first player to draw interest from every school in the SEC and ACC.
Jankowski has been strictly a baseball player since age six, but that first year, he says surprisingly, "I hated it. The next year I began liking it."
It's a wonder he didn't give up pitching at age 11. He was on the mound during a summer all-star tournament when a girl hit a walk-off two-run homer to eliminate his team. "They made fun of me for two weeks," he admitted. "We played that team later and she ran over our first baseman and broke two of his fingers."
Ken Griffey, Jr., is his idol. "He's got a pretty swing," Jankowski said. "I like how he's not cocky and never shows any emotion."
Jankowski carries a 3.3 GPA and hopes to major in physical education in college with an eye on becoming a high school baseball coach someday. He already works with young players at the Bianco School of Baseball in Canonsburg, Pa.
His immediate goal, however, is to help the Indians win the Class AAAA state title. They were second in the state when he was a freshman and he says confidently, "I think this team is just as good as that one."
National Notes
* Chatsworth, Calif., senior shortstop Mike Moustakas homered twice during an 8-2 victory over Taft (Woodland Hills) to tie the state record with 47 in his career. He has 19 this spring, just two shy of the state record.
* Sultana (Hesperia, Calif.) junior catcher Wade Hightower slammed three homers - two with the bases loaded - and drove in 13 runs during a 27-2 rout of Barstow. His RBI total is third-best in California history.
* Trinity (Washington, Pa.) sophomore Tyler Schrader blanked Steel Valley (Munhall), 4-0, recording all 21 outs on strikeouts. The 5-10, 170-pounder struck out the first 18 batters. He wound up with a seven-inning no-hitter, which included a pair of walks.
* Mike Cameron became the winningest Division I baseball coach in Ohio when Cincinnati Moeller defeated city foe LaSalle, 11-1. Cameron has a 761-303 record with four state titles in 40 years.
* Senior softball star Lindsey Dean pitched her fourth consecutive no-hitter as Camarillo (Calif.) defeated Hueneme, 10-0, in five innings. She struck out 12.
* Patrick Henry senior Donna Kerr struck out 16 in a 10-0 victory over Serra to set a San Diego section record with 895 career strikeouts. Kerr, who will attend UCLA, struck out 23 in a 2005 game.
* Mars (Pa.) senior Monica Glomb struck out 27 in a 4-0, 14-inning victory over Hampton. The Kutztown University recruit walked two and allowed two hits.
* Pass Christian freshman distance runner Cory McGee set two state-meet records in the Mississippi Class 4A state track meet. She won the 1600-meter run in 4:57.20 and the 3200-meter run in 10:39.57. She also won the 800-meter run, marking the second straight year she recorded this trifecta.
* Ridgeland senior superstar Bianca Knight also won three events in the Mississippi 4A finals. She sprinted to state-meet records in the 100-meter dash (11.28) and 200-meter dash (23.36) and also won the 400-meter run (57.35) while sparking Ridgeland to the team title. The 200 record had stood for 25 years. It marked the fourth time in five years that the University of Texas signee had won three events at the state meet.
* Coalgate senior Teran Mixon left her mark on the Oklahoma Class 2A state track meet by completing her brilliant career with victories in the 800- and 1600-meter runs and legs on two victorious relays. Counting one year in 3A, Mixon won all 16 state-meet events she competed in during her four-year career. She will attend Oklahoma State.
* Los Angeles Locke senior sprint-hurdles star Ebony Collins gained her eligibility last week just in time to compete in the city and state track playoffs. Collins led Long Beach Wilson to the state championship as a junior, but had been declared ineligible due to her transfer.
* Therrell (Atlanta) junior Brittany Long set all-class records by winning the 100-meter dash (11.42) and the 200-meter dash (23.3) in the preliminaries of the Georgia Class AAA state track meet. She later won both finals (by slower times) and helped Therrell also win the state team championship. The 100 record had stood since 1986 and the 200 since 1988.
* Huntington, N.Y., defeated Comsewogue, 12-3, in a battle of unbeaten boys lacrosse teams. The Blue Devils - who are ranked No. 1 in the nation - have won the last two New York Class B state titles and are riding a 56-game winning streak.
* The winningest coach in Tennessee football history, Carlton Flatt, has accepted a position as math teacher at Eagleville, but is expected to also be added to the football coaching staff. He had retired in December after leading Brentwood Academy to a 354-68-3 record in 35 years, including 10 state titles and 10 runner-up finishes.
* Leroy Fisher has stepped down after five years as head football coach at small-school powerhouse Pahokee, Fla. His record was 60-7 with three state titles. The 37-year-old plans to go into administration.
* John Sarandrea has retired as head basketball coach and principal at New Castle, Pa., to become superintendent of the Sharon City School District. The 49-year-old Sarandrea compiled a 304-109 record in 15 years at New Castle, but probably will be most remembered for leading Tolentine (Bronx, N.Y.) to the USA Today national championship in 1988.
* National girls basketball champion Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) will be honored at a special "Dinner with Champions" on Friday at the North Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga. One of the highlights will be the retirement of the No. 32 jersey worn by National Player of the Year Maya Moore.
