Kungl at Home Behind the Plate

Jake Kungl arrived at Cypress College this fall hoping to become a starter on the baseball team, and he wasn’t particularly picky about where he played.

He had been a shortstop for four years at Loara High, but he also worked out at second and third base. In late October, however, he was asked to make a more challenging switch.

A few minutes before a scrimmage against Pepperdine, Cypress Coach Scott Pickler and his assistant, Bill Pinkham, approached Kungl about catching.

“Yeah, I’ll try it,” he told them, having never played the position but wanting to please.

He worked briefly with Pinkham, who had caught in the minor leagues, then was put into the game for a couple innings.

Things clicked, and Kungl went on to become the starting catcher. He also has worked his way to third in the batting order from ninth, and is hitting .356 with 13 runs batted in for Cypress (18-4, 5-4 in the Orange Empire Conference).

“I’m not sure [catching] is his spot in the future,” Pickler said, “but it gives us some flexibility. He is as neat a kid as you can have and he fits our mold.”

Kungl said he liked catching from the start because it involved him in every pitch of every game. He enjoys the chance to throw out baserunners, but says it’s difficult to learn to block pitches in the dirt.

Hours of practice with Pinkham broke Kungl of reaching for stray pitches, a habit carried over from his days as an infielder. Instead, he has learned to use his body to block pitches, like someone trained as a catcher.

“His arm, speed and power all measure up way short,” Pinkham said, “but we don’t look at that. He’s just one of those players you want to go to war with.”

Kungl carries two gloves to practices and continues to work out with the infielders. “I don’t want to look like a clown out there,” he reasoned. Far from it, Kungl is a solid fielder. In a recent game against Golden West, after catching for six innings, he was moved to second base. On his first chance he went high to grab a bouncer, then made a strong throw to the plate to force a runner. Two innings later, he was catching again.

SHIFT IS ON

Moving players to a variety of positions is nothing new for Pickler at Cypress. In 1997, Craig Kuzmic went from third base to the outfield to catcher. He also began batting left-handed for the first time.

Kuzmic was named the Orange Empire Conference’s most valuable player, the state’s co-player of the year and Cypress won a state title.

In 1994, Cypress won the state title and second baseman Andy Gonzales and center fielder Mario Opipari combined to pitch the final game.

AS EXPECTED

The top three teams in the season’s first Southern California baseball poll are from the Orange Empire Conference. Riverside is on top with Santa Ana second and Cypress third.

With teams playing three games a week, the polls become outdated quickly, but the top team in the conference is a pretty safe bet to be the top team in Southern California at season’s end.

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