Yough senior Jarett Bach on the radar for college baseball coaches
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Tuesday, July 10, 2018 | 5:42 PM
When Jarett Bach pitched for his Yough American Legion team on Saturday at Kiski Valley, two college baseball coaches made the trip to Freeport to see first-hand what made him so special.
The 6-foot-4, lanky left-hander overpowered Kiski Valley batters with a fastball that one coach told Yough manager Craig Spisak hit 88 mph on the radar gun.
“That’s the fastest he’s thrown,” Spisak said. “They were impressed.”
Bach allowed one hit while striking out 17 in Yough’s 11-1 victory.
The fastest Bach had been clocked was 87 mph at a college showcase in early June. Bach said his average velocity is around 85.
Bach is on the radar of numerous college programs, including Pitt, Penn State, Cornell, Duke, Kent State, Maryland-Baltimore County, Bucknell and William & Mary. And if he continues to improve, Spisak said that list is going to grow quickly.
“He was impressive at Kiski Valley, but I’ve seen him sharper with his control,” Spisak said. “That’s probably from not practicing as much this summer.”
Bach plays first base for the Legion team and mainly pitches for the Beaver Valley Reds travel team. He said he usually works four or five innings and 100 pitches per outing.
Spisak only uses Bach on the mound for the Legion team when he doesn’t have a game for Beaver Valley.
He is 2-0 for the Legion team, with an earned run average of 0.50. He’s pitched two complete games (14 innings) and allowed five hits, one earned run, walked four and struck out 31. His WHIP was 0.642. At the plate he is hitting .320, with 10 RBIs.
Bach was a first-team Tribune-Review all-star as a pitcher. He led the WPIAL with 77 strikeouts in 42 innings.
He was 3-3 with one save and 1.66 ERA and a WHIP of 0.90. He hit .300 with two doubles and 10 RBIs. Bach carries a 4.0 grade-point average and ranks fourth in his class.
“My main goal this summer is to get stronger and get more game experience,” Bach said. “I’ve always been a good pitcher. I’m working on developing my curveball and changeup. I’m focusing on ways to get players out more efficiently.”
And Bach said playing for both teams is helping him develop into a better player.
His most memorable game of his career came in the section opener at Deer Lakes when he allowed one hit and struck out 14 in six innings of a 2-0 victory.
“It was a great way to open the high school season,” Bach said. “Deer Lakes was a good team and it was a lot of fun.”
Correction
The headline has been corrected to reflect Bach’s year in school.
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