Jesko carries load in junior season
Catcher earns All-Suburban recognition
Oak Creek's Josh Jesko connects for a home run this season against Brookfield Central. Photo By Peter Zuzga
Oak Creek — Transition years don't typically go this well.
But throughout the high school summer baseball season, Josh Jesko often made it look easy. In fact, what the junior did during his first year as the full-time starting catcher for the Oak Creek baseball team was eye-opening for coach Scott Holler.
"I didn't anticipate him being as good as he was this year back there," Holler said. "I didn't know he'd be this good."
Jesko put on a show both offensively and defensively and as a result earned a spot on the 2010 NOW Newspapers All-Suburban Baseball Team.
"Offensively, we've known that he could hit since he was a freshman," Holler said. "We knew he'd put up big numbers if he got more than 100 at-bats."
That's exactly what he did. After getting only 70 at-bats as a sophomore and 60 as a freshman primarily as the designated hitter, Jesko was one of the main contributors for a team that lacked varsity experience entering this season. He hit a blistering .387 (46-for-119) with 19 extra base hits and socked nine home runs, tying the school record.
"I was real confident at the plate," said Jesko, who also plays football and hockey for Oak Creek. "There were never any nervous situations."
Jesko's offense, however, is not what grabbed Holler's attention. It was his work behind the plate.
"The thing I'm most proud of with him is how much he improved defensively, particularly his arm strength," Holler said. "He really worked on his release and his footwork back there during the offseason."
It sure showed. Jesko, who worked with nine different pitchers, gunned down 22 of 44 runners trying to steal and helped a youthful staff become one of the area's best. He became the first player in school history to make the NOW team as a catcher.
"I know people like to talk about stats in baseball, but one thing that gets overlooked is how a catcher knows his pitchers," Holler said. "He was pretty much calling every pitch of every game. For us to have a team ERA under 3.00 (2.75) speaks volumes for what kind of work he did."
But making improvements in his game is nothing new for Jesko.
"I make it a goal that I have to do better than I did the year before," Jesko said. "I worked all winter on catching so it wouldn't be that hard of a transition."
So what is next for 2011? Jesko wants to lead the Knights to the state championship and avoid a setback after an impressive season that saw Oak Creek set a school record for most regular season victories.
After watching Jesko's impressive year unfold, Holler's expectations are also raised.
"I expect him to be the team leader next year," Holler said. "He started to take that role around midseason this year. He started to know that he commanded the respect of his teammates with his play and he became more vocal. I expect him to be a team captain next year and lead the team in the offseason."
- David Cotey contributed to this story.
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