Jacobs pitcher George Donze had higher ambitions than merely expanding his role this season. The senior right-hander didn’t just want to make the jump from the bullpen to the starting rotation.
He wanted to be the ace.
“All offseason I was like, I’m going to be the guy every Monday,” Donze said. “I’m going to throw the first game of the week. It kind of just helped me for this, just having this mindset going.”
Through three starts, Donze has fulfilled that objective for the Golden Eagles. He struck out 11 Tuesday, leading Jacobs to a 4-2 victory at Hampshire in a Fox Valley Conference opener.
Donze (3-0) pitched a complete game for Jacobs (6-1, 1-0) and didn’t run into trouble until allowing two runs in the seventh while holding a four-run lead. He gave up six hits without a walk.
Belmont recruit Andrew Deegan delivered a two-run single for the Golden Eagles, while Jace Koth added an RBI single and scored a run. Luke Flaskamp singled and scored twice.
Jacob Ostrowski and Shane Pfeiffer singled and scored in the seventh for Hampshire (6-2-1, 0-1).
Jacobs coach Jamie Murray, meanwhile, had no doubt Donze was ready for the spotlight.
“Three-pitch command, he can locate wherever he wants,” Murray said. “That just demonstrates the work he’s put in, three-year varsity guy, has a ton of experience. He’s a leader.
“He’s a smart kid. He’s always trying to learn and get better. His stuff is really good. He’s like (Greg) Maddux. He doesn’t have to throw 90 to get people out.”
Donze had it all working immediately Tuesday on a cold day. Hampshire’s first seven outs of the game came via strikeout.
The Whip-Purs only hit one ball out of the infield before finally getting to Donze in the seventh.
“I feel like all the pitches were working,” he said. “The change-up was a little iffy, but I made the best out of it. It’s just trusting the process I’ve done over the offseason.
“Last year, I pitched in relief. This year, I knew I was going to have a bigger role with the guys graduating. I just put in the work in the offseason, trusted my abilities and everything I did in the offseason. It’s really showing up right now.”
The Wisconsin-Stevens Point recruit kept Hampshire quiet while Jacobs’ offense gathered momentum. The Golden Eagles got on the board in the third when Koth’s perfect bunt on a safety squeeze, which he beat out, plated Flaskamp.
Jacobs tacked on more in the fifth. Deegan came through with a two-run single. Koth then reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh.
“We weren’t necessarily barreling up a lot of balls, but I thought Deegan had really good at-bats,” Murray said. “Koth, I really liked his at-bats. Good team win.”
Hampshire did get to Donze in the seventh, leading off the inning with three straight singles to load the bases. The winning run was at the plate when Donze picked off a runner at first to end things.
“I thought we did a nice job in the seventh,” Hampshire coach Frank Simoncelli said. “We have a young team but they have a never-give-up attitude. We all know baseball is a funky game at times.
“(Donze) was doing a nice job, left a couple over the plate in that last inning and we took advantage.”
Still, Jacobs is off to a fast start and Donze has established himself as one of the area’s top pitchers. And it’s exactly as he pictured it.
“Our team came into the season with high expectations for ourselves,” Donze said. “Getting off to this start and knowing we can do it is really helping us forward.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
