Parkland High School Baseball

Senior Parkland pitcher Rhett Jacoby was named to the 2015 All-Area First Team by the Morning Call.  Jacoby compiled a record of 7-2 on the season with a 1.48 ERA.  Jacoby was part of a strong Trojan pitching staff that carried the team to the 2015 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title, the 2015 District XI championship, and deep into the PIAA state playoffs. 

Jacoby tossed 7 complete games with 2 shutouts and had 68 strikeouts on the season.  He struck out 10 batters in a complete game win over Nazareth.  He earned the victory against Emmaus tossing a complete game allowing only three base hits along with 9 strikeouts.  In the postseason, he pitched a two-hit, complete game shutout, while striking out eleven batters, in the EPC semifinal against Easton.  Jacoby pitched a complete game in the opening round of the PIAA state playoffs against Owen J. Roberts with six strikeouts to lead the Trojans to their first PIAA state playoff victory since 2009. 

Jacoby had incredible command of the strike zone and impeccable control.  He threw 75% of his pitches this year for strikes along with a 74% first pitch strike percentage.  In 61.2 innings pitched this season he faced at total of 252 batters, yet he only walked three.  In addition to that incredible stat, Jacoby did not walk a lead-off batter of any inning all season.  If that wasn’t amazing enough, Jacoby only went to a 3-0 count with one batter out of 252 batters faced, and he battled back on this one batter to get the strikeout. 

Jacoby had 26 innings this season where he retired the opponents in order in 1-2-3 fashion and opponents only managed a .236 batting average against him.  Jacoby also contributed with his bat and his glove this season.  At the plate, he had a .220 batting average along with 4 doubles, a triple, and 12 walks.  As the Trojans’ first baseman when he was not on the mound, Jacoby flashed a remarkable glove.  He made numerous picks in the dirt on throws from his fellow infielders and over the course of his entire varsity career he only had one error.

Jacoby ends is varsity career with nine wins on the mound with two saves.  With his 103 strikeouts, Jacoby is 5^th on the Parkland all-time career strikeout list.  In more than 104 innings pitched over his career, he only walked 15 batters and only had one inning where he walked the lead-off batter.  Jacoby will continue his baseball career next season at Millersville University.

Parkland’s senior third baseman Justin Afflerbach has received honorable mention by the Morning Call 2015 All-Area team selections.  Afflerbach was also named to the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference All-Conference Team by the EPC coaches.  The left-handed hitter worked all season from the number two spot in the Trojan lineup and had a .375 batting average along with a .471 on-base percentage.  Afflerbach led the team with 29 runs scored, which puts him first on the Parkland baseball all-time list for most runs scored in a single season.  He had two doubles, 13 walks and 15 RBI’s on the season.

Afflerbach collected at least one base hit in 23 of Parkland’s 29 games this season, he had 8 multi-hit games, and he reached base safely in 27 of the 29 games.  Justin had a four-hit performance in a game against Northampton while also driving in three runs.  He was 2-3 with three RBI’s against Central Catholic.  He was even better with runners on base during the season, batting .444 with runners in scoring position. 

During Parkland’s postseason, Afflerbach continued his strong performance with a .333 batting average along with a .433 on-base percentage.  He was 2-3 in the EPC semifinal against Easton and he followed up that up with a 2-4 performance at the plate against Pocono Mountain East in the District XI quarterfinal round. 

Justin finishes a successful career at Parkland with a .311 career batting average, a .417 career on-base percentage, and 54 runs scored.  He will continue his baseball career at Kutztown University.

Junior centerfielder Andrew Roth has been named to the 2015 Morning Call All-Area team with honorable mention.  Roth had an outstanding year for the Trojans both at the plate and in centerfield.  Roth secured his spot in the Trojan lineup early in the season producing with his bat and glove.  For the season he collected 23 base hits for a batting average just under .400 at .397. Roth had one double, 10 RBI’s, scored 17 runs, and an impressive .478 on-base percentage.  Batting from the bottom of the Trojan lineup, Roth produced in clutch situations numerous times batting .474 with runners in scoring position.

Roth was outstanding for the Trojans during their run in the playoffs.  He was 2-2 in the District XI quarter final game against Pocono Mountain East.  Roth was 2-3 in the District XI semifinal game against Northampton, including a key base hit late in the game that drove in an important insurance run for the Trojans.  In the District XI championship game against Easton he was also 2-3 at the plate.  With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom ofthe 7^th inning of that championship game, Roth led off the inning with a double and eventually scored the walk-off winning run to clinch the District XI championship for the Trojans. In the postseason, Roth batted .348 with a .407 on-base percentage.

In the 25 games he played in this season, he got at least one base hit in 18 games and he reached base safely in 23 of 25 those games. Roth returns to the team next season for his senior year.

Jeff Strisovsky, Parkland’s senior outfielder has been named to the 2015 Morning Call All-Area Team with honorable mention.  This is the second year in a row that Strisovsky has received honorable mention from the all-area selections by the Morning Call.  Jeff was one of the key players this season that helped the 2015 Trojan squad win a record high 27 games, win the 2015 EPC title, and he will never forget how he helped the team win two playoff games, especially the 2015 District XI championship.

From the leadoff spot of the Trojan lineup, Strisovsky was a consistent bat all season.  He finished the season with a .296 batting average along with five doubles and 15 RBI’s.  He earned 9 walks to help him achieve a .364 on-base percentage.  He led the team with ten stolen bases and his 23 runs scored this year were second most on the team.  Jeff came through in the clutch more than once this season as he batted .406 with runners in scoring position.  He got at least on base hit in 23 of the 29 games played this year, and he saved his best heroics for the playoffs.

Strisovsky was also a top defender in the Trojan outfield and he made several outstanding defensive plays this season.  In addition to his offensive contributions, Jeff made more than one diving catch in right field this year that prevented opponents from scoring in key situations.

Jeff will be remembered for numerous contributions to the success of the 2015 Trojan team, but he will be most remembered for his “Mr. October” heroics.  In the first round of the EPC playoffs against Pocono Mountain East, the Trojans found themselves tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the 7^th inning.  With a runner on first base with no outs, everyone in the stadium expected Jeff to bunt the base runner over to second base into scoring position.  Strisovsky did appear to be doing just that when he squared around and showed bunt, but he pulled the bat back as the pitch was delivered.  He laced a double over the left fielder’s head scoring the base runner from first base for the dramatic walk-off victory.  A player is usually only able to experience such heroics once during a season, if at all, but not Strisovsky. 

With another playoff game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 7th inning, but this time it was on the big stage at Coca-Cola Park in the District XI championship game against Easton, Jeff found himself in a familiar situation. The Trojans had a runner on second base with one out.  Strisovsky stepped into the batter's box and drove a line drive to centerfield for a single to drive in the game-winning, walk-off run to give the Trojans the 4-3 victory and their third straight District XI title.

Jeff finishes his Parkland career with a .308 batting average, ten doubles, 26 RBI’s, 41 runs scored, 28 walks and a .415 on-base percentage.  Jeff will attend Shippensburg University in the fall.