BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
TRENTON — Pitcher Joe Schroeder put forth a command performance as the Jackson High School baseball team registered a resounding 8-1 victory over host Riverside High School last Sunday night in a nonconference game at Waterfront Park.
Schroeder was near flawless in notching his first win of the season. First-year Jackson coach Frank Malta was impressed with his right-hander’s outing.
“He is our No. 1 guy right now,” Malta said. “He had a terrific outing. He worked ahead in the count the entire evening. When Joe is around the plate like that, he can be very difficult to hit.”
Schroeder gave up just one hit and struck out 10 in 5 2/3 innings.
“He worked off his fastball the entire night,” Malta said. “He was ahead 0-2 and 1-2 for most of the game. He has been pitching very well for us. This is the kind of game that we hope gets us going.”
Indeed, Jackson’s pitching and timely hitting combined with a solid defensive effort proved to be the right formula. Malta has put an intense concentration on getting back to sharpening fundamentals.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work on stressing fundamentals and basics,” Malta said. “We have a lot of talent on this team. But our philosophy is to make sure we are doing the fundamentals as soundly as possible.”
With the win, Jackson improved to 3-4 overall. Malta realizes the competitive nature of A South.
“I know we need to be ready to play every day,” Malta said. “There are a lot of tough teams in this conference. But we have seen improvements already in just a short period of time. Some good things are beginning to happen.”
Offensively, Jackson collected just six hits as a team. But the Jags took full advantage of the erratic Riverside pitching, which issued a lot of free passes.
“Their guys had problems finding the strike zone,” Malta said. “Our guys showed some patience at the plate and made them throw strikes. When we need to get the timely hit, we had players step up and deliver.”
Walter Brick was the only player with two hits for the Jags. Brick delivered the key blow in Jackson’s three-run second inning. Brick smacked a two-run triple.
“That hit gave us a nice cushion for us to work with,” Malta said.
“It was nice to see Joe get a lead. He has pitched well. He’s gone up against a number of tough teams. But we have the confidence in him to take those teams on.”
Brick later delivered an RBI single. Mike Schoch also contributed an RBI single.
Pitching has been a strength in the early going, Malta said. Junior lefty Jared Tramutola is 2-0, registering victories over Brick Memorial and Lacey.
In the win against Lacey, Tramutola went the distance.
Reliever Ari Goldberg has been effective keeping batters off-balance.
“We have a number of guys who can throw strikes and keep hitters at bay,” Malta said. “We have a nice mix of guys who throw hard, and others who have solid off-speed stuff.”