By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
At some point Jake DeWitt will realize the significance of reaching 100 hits for his career.
But for now, the only thing that matters to DeWitt is that he and his Florence High teammates are winning baseball games.
”It was a cool achievement but it isn’t something that I have been thinking about much,” said DeWitt, who reached 100 hits for his career with a triple against BCIT-Westhampton. “Maybe it will more mean more later in life. But right now it isn’t something that I have thought about a lot.”
What DeWitt is thinking about is helping the Flashes win games. They are 5-0 heading into today’s game against Life Center Academy and face some tough tests in the next couple of weeks.
”I think we’re pretty happy, but not satisfied,” DeWitt said. “We are 5-0, but still have things we need to work on. We’ve been able to capitalize on other teams mistakes. But we need to learn to take advantage of those mistakes early in games and out teams away.
”I think we have a chance to do a lot of big things this year. We have big games coming with Holy Cross and Northern Burlington in the Michael Denger tournament this weekend. Then we have a huge game with New Egypt. I think those games could define our season.”
Through the early part of the season DeWitt has not only been swinging a hot bat for the Flashes, but also been a top pitcher as well. Nothing he does really comes as a surprise to Florence coach Joe Frappolli.
”He’s very humble,” Frappolli said. “Getting to 100 hits is just a number to him. He works hard and is a great kid. It’s certainly an accomplishment. He was a true starter as a freshman on a team that played Robbinsville in the state championship game. He played the whole year. It’s almost impossible to get to 100 hits unless play a lot as a freshman.
”And he also really prides himself in his pitching. He is very serious about it and he works hard at it. I’m not sure if he’ll pitch at the next level but he works at it. He’s pitched our two big league games this year. He had a 2-0 win over Maple Shade and had 12 strikeouts in that game. And he had 16 strikeouts against Burlington City. So he has 28strikeouts in two starts.”
DeWitt will be heading to The College of New Jersey in the fall. He’s not sure whether his future will be on the mound or in the field, but is excited about the future whichever way it goes.
”I was at Accepted Student Day the other day,” DeWitt said. “I got a good taste of baseball and the atmosphere around the team and the school. They are graduating a lot of pitchers, so I might get a chance on the mound. A lot of the other fresh are also middle infielders, so I’m not sure about how that will go.
”I like pitching more right now. I like the feeling of being in control and affecting every pitch. I like to have the ball in my hands.”
Frappolli also likes to see the ball in DeWitt’s hands, although he means a whole lot more to the Flashes.
”He has always been a pretty good leader by example,” Frappolli said. “He’s a hard worker and sets a good example for the rest of the guys. He’s a leader on and off the field. He’s always putting guys in position and doing the right thing. He’s been doing that forever and has taken that role well as a senior captain.”
Now all the Flashes need is for the weather to cooperate and give them a chance to play some games. They host the round-robin tournament this weekend that includes Holy Cross and Northern Burlington. The Flashes will play Northern Burlington at 9 a.m. and Holy Cross at 2:30 p.m., with the other two teams meeting at 11:30 a.m.
”We’ve had some of our bigger league games rained out,” Frappolli said. “We’ve had Delran, Palmyra and Riverside postponed. It will get busy toward the end of the season with all the makeups. We also have a big league on Tuesday with New Egypt.”

