Just call on Jack
When the Knoch baseball team needs a horse on the mound, the Knights usually turn to Jack Bartek.
The senior is accustomed to such a challenge.
And Knoch baseball coach Sean O'Donnell has shown trust in his tall, lanky right-hander.
In a must-win game against Highlands last week, Bartek wasn't his sharpest as the Knights fell behind 4-0 early. But Bartek settled down, tossed 6 1/3 innings and kept the Knights in the game. Knoch eventually rallied for a 7-6 win that clinched a playoff spot.
Knoch will open up the WPIAL 4A postseason Wednesday when they face Blackhawk at 6:30 p.m. at Neshannock.
“Jack's been a starter at the varsity level for three years,” said Knoch coach Sean O'Donnell. “At a couple of points (against Highlands) I'm thinking, 'They're hitting him. I need to get him out.' But he's my senior. He's been here. And you know he's going to stay out there and throw strikes and give you a chance.
“At the end of the day, that's what he did. He battled. He's always been kind of one of those guys who has to grind a little bit.”
O'Donnell said he thinks the confidence he shows in leaving Bartek on the mound to wiggle out of jams helps him in the long run.
“He's been giving it his all since he was a sophomore, so I hope so,” O'Donnell said. “He knows we'd rather have him out there, even though it's not like we don't have confidence in our other guys. We have confidence in them, but Jack's the guy we want out there.”
Bartek has been remarkably consistent over his career when he's been out there.
As a sophomore, he was 1-1 with 1.75 ERA. Last year, he helped Knoch win a section title and this year, he's 5-1 with a 1.84 ERA. He's struck out 38 batters and walked just 10 in 38 innings pitched.
Bartek has a simple philosophy when he's on the hill.
“I just try to focus and don't think of it as an individual effort, but as a team effort,” Bartek said. “Just throw strikes because I know my team will make the plays.”
Bartek throws a fastball that has been consistently clocked in the mid-80s, a sharp-breaking curveball and a changeup.
When his curveball is on, it's a knee-bender.
“I try fastball inside and curveball outside and that usually gets them,” Bartek said. “The curveball is probably my second-favorite pitch.”
Bartek enjoys pitching against top opponents. He's likely to face a formidable lineup against Blackhawk Wednesday.
He also enjoys the chess match that takes place when trying to get through a lineup two or three times over the course of an outing.
“I think it's more fun facing hitters more than once,” Bartek said. “You have a sense of what they can hit and what they can't. You have to keep switching it up. You have to keep mixing it up on them. I enjoy that kind of challenge.”
