Say this much about West York center fielder Jerrin Toomey: He can flat-out fly.
The numbers don’t lie. Last season, Toomey stole 26 bases in 26 attempts. Hard to do much better than that.
This year? The senior is 25 for 26 in steal attempts. In Wednesday’s YAIAA championship win over Delone Catholic, Toomey stole five bases.
Yep, five steals in one game. At one point in the fifth inning, Toomey stole second and third on consecutive pitches.
“When he gets on base,” West York coach Roger Czerwinski said, “he’s going to run.”
“I don’t think anybody can throw him out,” fellow senior Kaden Hepler added.
But Toomey’s senior season as not been without bumpy patches. A few weeks ago, the leadoff man found himself mired in a rare funk.
“This game’s more mental than it is physical,” Toomey said after Wednesday’s game. “I was just struggling at the plate and I got mentally down. We had a Friday game and I went 0-for-4. I took the weekend off, didn’t touch a bat. I came back Monday, picking up a bat and it was like a brand new season for me.
“That’s what I’ve tried to do, just stay mentally strong and focus on one pitch as a time.”
So far, it’s worked. Toomey went 3-for-4 against the Squires with an RBI and a run scored. All three of his hits were line drives up the middle — usually a good sign that a hitter is locked in.
And once Toomey was on base, he was off to the races. He even made up some ground on Brandon Rauhauser, the Bulldogs steals leader (he has 28 this season). Czerwinski said the two have a friendly competition going.
At this rate, Toomey might just catch his teammate.