Posted: June 23, 2009 |(0) Comments

Alex Jaskulski never felt comfortable in the batter's box last season.

Jaskulski, then a sophomore on the Whitnall baseball team, had what he described as an awkward batting stance. His hands were too low and his bat was not cocked high enough. He made contact, but did not generate much power.

At an offseason session with Hitters Baseball, a baseball academy in Racine, instructors corrected flaws in Jaskulski's left-handed swing. His bat and hands are raised and he is ready to explode as the ball reaches the hitting zone.

Needless to say, the junior first baseman's comfort level is no longer in question.

"I try a new stance every year," Jaskulski said. "Freshman year, I had an open stance and was pretty successful. Last year's stance, I didn't really understand. It was awkward and I was pretty weak. This year, it's easier to load up and hit the ball. I feel more comfortable and confident."

With his new stance in tow, Jaskulski, in his third year on the varsity, is off to a hot start for the Falcons. Through 13 games as of Monday, Jaskulski was batting .455 with 10 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .490. Of his 20 hits, half had gone for extra-bases: seven doubles, two triples and one home run.

Perhaps most impressive is that he had zero strikeouts through the first month of play.

"He has made tremendous strides from his sophomore year to his junior year," Whitnall coach Brian Johnsen said. "He spent a lot of time working on his hitting and his bat speed. He has a lot of tools: he can hit, run and plays a very solid first base. What excites me about Alex is that he is just starting to understand the game and he has a ton of room to grow and get better.

"At the end of last season, he was not hitting as well as he was capable of but really put in the time in the offseason and made the necessary adjustments to become a better hitter, and it shows."

Jaskulski, a running back and linebacker on the football team and a guard on the basketball squad, started the season as the team's fifth hitter but has since moved up to second. He also leads the Falcons with a team-best .963 fielding percentage.

"In my opinion he is the best defensive first baseman in the conference," Johnsen said.

Jaskulski's father, Pete, played baseball at Whitnall and is a certified umpire in the Wisconsin Umpire Association. His uncle, Mike, is a Division I college basketball assistant coach at the University of Central Florida. His grandfather, Bob, was the head basketball coach at Milwaukee Pulaski and Franklin. And his cousin, Chris, who is also a junior, is on the Whitnall roster as well. That athletic pedigree has helped Jaskulski understand confidence is the key, but success can be fickle.

"Baseball is the kind of sport where you can do terrible one year and great the next, or the other way around," Jaskulski said. "(Milwaukee Brewers shortstop) J.J. Hardy batted what, .280 last year (it was .283) and this year's he's batting .210 (.213 as of Monday).

"Last year, I didn't hit like I wanted to. Now, I'm confident. I'm not trying to be cocky, but I do expect to do well and I expect to get a hit every time."