The numbers suggest Manteno’s Jake Stevens had an easy transition to varsity baseball last season.
As a sophomore, he hit .342 with a team-high 11 doubles and 17 runs batted in as the Panthers’ regular first baseman.
But 2024 was a work in progress, Stevens said after Manteno’s 6-5, eight-inning win against Kankakee on March 29.
“At the start, I was a little nervous,” he said. “And then obviously in playoffs I was nervous because we were playing against (Bishop McNamara). But at the end, or like midseason (to) end of season, I was feeling pretty good.”
And Panthers coach Matt Beckner had no problems with Stevens’ play.
“I’d love to have nine Jakes,” Beckner said. “It’s one of those things, every time he gets up, he bats with confidence and he seems to find a barrel. You keep hitting it hard, eventually it’s going to find a hole.”
Stevens has picked up where he left off last season and that helped the Panthers to a 5-0 start. After the Kankakee game — in which he clubbed a bases-loaded triple to deep center — he was hitting .444 with three doubles, two triples and 10 RBIs.
That’s two more triples than he had all of last season.
“I did get gunned down at (third base) last year so I had to turn on the jets this year,” he said jokingly.
Stevens’ ability to drive the ball does play well at Manteno’s spacious ballpark. But he’s not just working on the offensive side of his game.
“Last year was kind of rough in the field,” he said. “Just trying to get better this year at it, working on picks.”
Though he puts effort into improving at football and basketball, too, there’s something special about baseball for Stevens. He appreciates the camaraderie and the fact that it’s a tough game to master.
“It’s just fun being with all the boys and it’s such a failure sport,” he said. “That’s why it’s good. Hitting (safely) three out of every 10 at-bats and (that’s) being good? That’s a good thing. …
“Failure is the key to success. So if you fail multiple times, you’re gonna keep getting better at it.”
The proof of that is in the numbers Stevens has put up the past two seasons.