For senior second baseman Jake Kirk, it had been a long time between home runs. He actually hit his first home run on the high school level Monday afternoon for Richards.
But the verdict is out on when he hit the last one.
“I don’t remember,” Kirk said. “But it has to be at least five years.”
Richards assistant coach Jake Moran, who pointed out that he has coached Kirk since he was 10, believes it happened five or six years ago with the Oak Lawn Lightning against rival Westside.
But Bulldogs head coach Jeff Kortz isn’t convinced it happened at all. He has his doubts.
“(Monday) was his first home run,” Kortz said with a laugh. “Don’t let them tell you different. That’s his first one ever. We’re not talking a ground ball that got by the outfielders just standing there.”
Despite the debate, Kirk’s blast over the left-center fence in an 11-7 South Suburban Red loss to conference-leading Reavis in Burbank was a feel-good moment for Richards.
The two teams were scheduled to play in a rematch Tuesday in Oak Lawn but the game was postponed by a late afternoon storm that rendered the baseball field unplayable.
For Richards (9-5, 3-2), however, Kirk’s homer was stunning and even inspirational.
“He was pretty excited running the bases,” Kortz said of Kirk. “It was a cool moment for him. His parents were there and they were very excited, too.
“It was great to see the joy on his face. All the guys love him and you could see the joy on their faces as they were jumping around and screaming and hollering.”
That included junior left fielder Ryan Golinski, who appreciates Kirk’s approach at the plate.
“I love having him in the lineup,” Golinski said. “Now, he’s a power bat. His home run was pretty awesome. You knew it right off the bat that it wasn’t going to be a wall-scraper.”
Golinski was more confident when the ball met the bat than Kirk was, so there was no posing or admiring the rare shot.
“I didn’t really think it was out right away,” Kirk said. “I ran to first as hard as I could. Then I figured out it was gone. It was awesome.”
For Kortz, it was rewarding to see Kirk reap the rewards. He didn’t play much last year, and even though he doesn’t have plans to play in college, he’s worked his way into the starting lineup.
“It was good to see because Jake has put in a lot of work,” Kortz said. “Last year, he didn’t get a ton of innings at second base.
“But he worked all summer, all fall and all winter in the weight room and put on some good weight. He’s worked on his hitting.”
Kirk confirmed the offseason work paid off.
“Every day I came in and worked and got comfortable playing baseball,” he said. “Coach Moran told me to have no regrets, to play loose and to play baseball.”
Kirk grew up coming to Richards’ games to watch his brother Ben, who was a catcher.
“I wanted to carry on his legacy,” Jake said. “He told me to show up every day and enjoy baseball while you have it.”
Jake’s love of baseball, however, goes further back than watching his brother play.
He can thank his grandmother, Mary Pauksta, for piquing his interest in the sport.
“My grandma loves baseball, too,” he said. “We’re a baseball family, I would say. She’s a big White Sox fan and she made sure I loved the White Sox and not the Cubs.
“I still watch Sox games with her. Even if they are bad, she will watch them every day.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
