Friday, Jun. 12, 2009

Richland senior a hit as MVP

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

It would be easy to think it all came so easy.

Brett Jacobs knows different.

That sweet swing -- gracefully precise -- generates so much speed and power, it must be a gift from the baseball gods.

In reality, though, the batting stroke of Richland's power-hitting shortstop has been hewn by countless cuts in the cage and honed by endless hours studying it on film.

"I hit a ton with my assistant coach," said Jacobs, who lives two doors down from Bombers assistant Tim Ruane and makes steady use of the batting cage Ruane set up in his driveway.

All that work has paid off, with Jacobs leading the Bombers to their third state title in five years and fourth in the program's history. It also resulted in his second straight selection as the Herald's All-Area baseball MVP.

"Our team's only goal was to win the state championship," Jacobs said. "None of us cared about ourselves; we just wanted to go out with that win."

Jacobs and teammates Cody Shepherd and Jamison Rowe, also first-team picks, were starters on the 2007 championship team. But Jacobs said this title was the highlight of a baseball career that includes six state titles in various divisions, a trip to the 2003 Little League World Series and last summer's American Legion World Series.

"It meant so much more going out as seniors," Jacobs said. "This is how we wanted to go out."

Ben Jacobs, Brett's dad who shares coach of the year honors with Kamiakin's Rex Easley, said the time he's had with his son has been priceless.

"Even when he was 4, 5, 6 years old, he would take 500 swings a day," Ben remembered. "During the winter, I set up a cage in the garage.

"He started with one of those little Incrediball bats, something light he could handle, and he just hit and hit and hit. I started filming it, and we'd study it. My wife thought I was crazy to film his swing at 4, 5 years old. But what's neat, now I have all those movies, not just the memories."

Brett Jacobs finished his Richland years tied with Grant Richardson for the career mark in home runs (24) and RBIs (117). He was the first player to have back-to-back 40-RBI seasons at Richland, though neither was this year.

Indeed, Jacobs' numbers dipped a bit this year -- he hit just .417 with five homers, 33 RBIs, nine doubles and 11 stolen bases.

But his defense was never better, committing just two errors at shortstop and helping the team turn 29 double plays.

A 3.898 GPA student, he'll be playing his ball next season in Washing-ton State's crimson and gray.

Ben Jacobs concluded his 21st season by posting an 11th straight 20-win campaign and becoming just the third coach in state history to win four state titles -- the first to do so at the big-school (4A, 3A or 2A) level.

Easley, meanwhile, capped his 22nd and final season as Kamiakin head coach with one of his finest performances, guiding a young Braves team that relied heavily on underclassmen back to state for the third straight season.

"It's very rewarding to see kids get better throughout the game and the season, progress to a different level," said Easley, who finishes with 485 wins and a winning percentage better than .770.

Richland finished with five players on the All-Area first team, with Josh Rapacz and Eric Yardley making the cut.

Southridge was next with three players, including center fielder Andrew Mendenhall, an MVP candidate who finished as the school's career leader in six different offensive categories, including hits, stolen bases and walks. Joining him are teammates Tyler Roberts and Clayton Homme.

Kamiakin's Shawn O'Brien and Kody Young, Kennewick's Tony Bryant and Drew Loftus (the sophomore is the only non-senior on the team), and Hanford's Travis Chalk round out the first team.