Senior shortstop Jameson Martin has grown into his role as St. Laurence’s leadoff hitter.
Get on base, then pass the baton and watch his teammates drive him in.
Although he’s handling it just fine, it’s a relatively new spot in the order for Martin.
“My first time batting leadoff was last year,” he said. “It was difficult at first. I had never hit there before — opening up the game. It’s a different mentality.
“But as the year went on, and into this year especially, I got a lot more comfortable with it. I understand my job is to get on for the guys behind me, and hopefully they can bring me in.”
That happened twice in one inning Monday for the Vikings during an 11-4 victory over Brother Rice that won them a share of the Catholic League championship, their first since 2021.
St. Laurence (25-5, 11-3), which shares the title with Providence, was trailing 2-0 before erupting with an eight-run fifth. It was highlighted by a pair of singles by Martin, who led off and scored twice in the inning.
Martin finished 2-for-5 with those two singles and two RBIs, including one on a sacrifice fly that scored junior second baseman Ben Geary and established the final score.
It was a hard-luck loss for Brother Rice (14-14, 8-5), which received a solid outing from starting pitcher Braydon McKendrick, a sophomore who gave up only one hit and struck out three in the first four innings.
But in the end, the spotlight was brightest on Martin, a Minnesota recruit.
“The moment’s never too big for him,” St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus said. “He comes up with big hits, makes plays for us defensively, even gets on the mound once in a while to close games.
“He is a really even-keeled guy — a really intelligent, cerebral player.”
Another player who continues to be impressed with Martin is senior catcher Matthew Carrano, who drove him in with a single in the early stages of the fifth inning.
“He did his job, getting on and starting us up,” Carrano said. “We preach pushing the baton onto the next batter, so I luckily got that swing, got that single, and moved on from there.”
Growing up, Martin was a golfer. At age 8, he developed a love for baseball that was influenced by his grandfather.
Fast forward a decade, and Martin is in a position to do special things at the next level, heading off to the Big Ten.
“I’m super excited,” Martin said of Minnesota. “It’s a great opportunity — definitely not going to take it for granted. I’m going to put it all together and hopefully make an impact up there.”
Lotus, who received an ice-water bath from two of his players in honor of winning the league, said the Golden Gophers are getting the type of player who puts in overtime to improve his craft.
“There’s not too many nights that go by that I don’t get a text from him asking if we can extra hit in the morning,” Lotus said. “I think that hard work really, really pays off. He’s pushing me to get guys in and be better.”
Batting leadoff, you would expect a hitter who can do just that — lead the team.
Carrano confirmed Martin checks those boxes, but Martin pointed out his philosophy revolves around keeping teammates up and ready to roll.
It’s going to be an important trait considering the playoffs are on the horizon.
“Definitely this year, it’s making sure everyone is together at all times, making sure everyone is pulling for each other, behind each other on every pitch,” Martin said. “That’s my big thing.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
