St. Johns River State baseball works to overcome slow start, get back to 'doing damage'
PALATKA — St. Johns River State's baseball program is one of the most successful junior college programs around.
The Vikings won a whopping 313 games from 2013 through last season, boasting a 68% winning percentage.
The last two years, though, the program has lost some of its magic. The Vikings lost 22 games last season — the most in the last eight years — and are off to an uncharacteristic 12-11 start this season.
A mixture of inexperience, a tough schedule and health problems best explains the slow start. Their youth on the mound, in particular, has been a problem, head coach Ross Jones said.
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He is pleased with his team offensively and defensively, but they are still working to get games under control.
“We've got to learn how not to shoot ourselves in the foot with lead off walks and pitching behind the count,” Jones said.
The Vikings lost three of their returning pitchers and a freshman arm to injury early in the season, which likely cost them some games. Luckily, the team does have three veteran pitchers back.
Jones stressed that with health on their side, they'll be fine.
He also noted how his young bullpen has to learn how to serve pitches and be efficient. When tournament play starts, Jones said, the team will only go as far as the pitching staff will take them.
First, though, Jones is looking forward to conference play, when their busy schedule slows down. To date, the Vikings have played 34 games in 33 days.
They’ve also played several top-ranked opponents, like No. 3 Northwest Florida State College — a juggernaut they lost to three times last week.
Jones’ teams usually hit a wall at this point in the season trying to balance athletics and academics — a struggle sophomore pitcher Trevor Bauman knows all too well.
“If you have your stuff together and know you want to be here, you can find a way to manage it all,” Bauman said.
He and second-year catcher Jakob Runnels know what it takes to survive a season of JUCO baseball and try to aid their younger teammates.
The Vikings have a lot to overcome to get back to their winning ways and compete for an elusive NJCAA national championship that has seemed to escape them over the year, despite all the winning.
The team must learn how to close games if they want to take that next step, Bauman said, because championship teams know how to “put the screws on the door and finish."
“Our offense is going to do some serious damage,” Runnels added of the second half of the season. “It’s going to be an offense pitchers hate.”
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: JUCO juggernaut St. Johns River State baseball looking to 'do damage'
