Jake Meyers realized that becoming a college athlete requires making adjustments, and that knowledge helped him play a vital role for the St. Joseph’s University baseball team during his time on Hawk Hill.

Meyers, a 2015 Whitehall graduate, just completed his senior season at St. Joseph’s University where he pitched for the Hawks. When he entered the program, he was like many other players who step onto a Division I field, having led his high school team in hitting his senior season, as well as posting a 1.79 ERA as a starting pitcher. As a standout two-way player, Meyers began his college career at St. Joe’s with the belief that he would continue that pathway.

As a freshman Meyers played third base and pitched, but soon realized that he needed to adjust to the demands of the college game where every player had similar skill sets as the best players from their respective high school teams. He said he didn’t get a lot of playing time and was relegated to a supporting role as a bench player that season.

He decided to make an adjustment heading into his sophomore year.

“I just focused on pitching,” said Meyers.

Gone were the hours spent hitting in batting cage, and all the other necessary work a position player needs to put in. It allowed him to solely concentrate on pitching.

“It allowed me to get my work in, work on different things like pickoff moves, and be able to focus pitching,” Meyers said, “It really helped a lot.”

In his sophomore season, Meyers tied for the team lead in appearances, making 17 as a reliever. In a game against Villanova on March 29, he struck out four of the five batters he faced during his outing.

That role continued through his junior year when he 11 appearances out of the bullpen. That season saw him toss seven scoreless innings over that span.

His senior season saw another change. He was called on to start a couple of games, forcing him to make the adjustment as a starter. His first start came against UNC-Wilmington where he wound up getting the 4-2 win after going six, strong innings. It was part of a doubleheader to open the season for the Hawks, and Meyers got the team its first win after falling to Virginia Military Institute in the opener.

Meyers said that UNC-W had been a regional qualifier last season, and they had also won 10-straight openers heading into the game.

“That was a fun way to start the year with my first win,” said Meyers who retired the final eight hitters he faced.

He subsequently moved back to the bullpen, but got another start against Tulane later in the year.

It was all about adjusting to the demands of the team who would need him to spot start on occasion. Meyers just wanted to help in any way he could.

When he took the ball to face collegiate batters, he knew he couldn’t rely solely on his fastball. In high school, he could throw his hard stuff by most players. In college, it was once again about making adjustments.

“In college I wasn’t able to make those same kinds of pitches; I had to make adjustments,” he said. “It was making those adjustments mentally, learning how to pitch behind in the count, and learning how to locate a little better.”

Helping his make all those adjustments were his first pitching coach Nick Hill, and later head coach Fritz Hamburg.

Meyers said a lot of emphasis was paid to how he would pitch specific batters. He said the coaches went over scouting reports, and he would tailor his approach to each hitter as he worked his way through the order.

He was also aided by the experience of teammates, pointing to the help offered by Tim Brennan when he was staring his career. He said that Brennan, a seventh-round selection of the Texas Rangers in 2018, was instrumental in his development.

“You learn things form each other,” said Meyers.

He said that his favorite team moment came during his first year when they finished third in the Atlantic 10 Conference and were just a game away from getting into the championship. They won 31 games, including the Liberty Bell Classic, and were named Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball Team of the Year. He said that whole stretch run was a lot of fun as they were competing for the A-10 Championship.

“I just remember that whole playoff experience,” said Meyers.

Individually, it was his start against UNC-Wilmington. It also became his first win as a starter.

“To go into opening day as a starter with a lot of fans on hand, and going through all that as well as I did, that was an awesome experience,” said Meyers.

He said that college ball taught him to go into the situation as prepared as possible.

“Looking back, it’s important to be ready to go,” said Meyers.

He said that readiness extends to the classroom as well. He said that baseball is a grind. They play over 30 games, and the quicker you adapt, the easier your college life will be.

He also made academic adjustments. When he arrived on campus, Meyers was an undecided business major, but switched to psychology. He’s now entering postgraduate study where he’s on track to become an occupational therapist.

Meyers said that through all the adjustments, his time at St. Joe’s was invaluable.

“It was a privilege to be able to play Division I baseball, and to be able to have that experience at St. Joe’s is something that I’m very grateful for having that opportunity,” said Meyers.