W&J’s LaDuca knows how to walk it off
By John Sacco
For the Observer-Reporter
He has the steadiest and surest hands of all the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents and has an NCAA Division III Gold Glove to prove it.
While his defensive prowess only increases with each difficult play he makes, do not sleep on Jacob LaDuca’s bat.
It is especially lethal in clutch and game-winning hit situations.
LaDuca has two walk-off hits this season, leading the Presidents to victories over LaRoche and Framingham State.
Those game-enders come on the heels of a dramatic walk-off home run in last season’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference playoffs at Ross Memorial Park. W&J went on to win the PAC championship and advance to the regionals.
For his efforts, LaDuca, of Clarence, N.Y., was named the PAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and All-PAC First Team shortstop in 2023.
Now, after a slow start, against some high-level competition, the Presidents find themselves atop the PAC standings.
After W&J’s doubleheader sweep over Franciscan Tuesday, 10-3 and 17-7, W&J owns a 10-game winning streak, an 8-0 PAC mark and is 14-7 overall.
While LaDuca saw his nine-game hitting streak snapped in the first game Tuesday, he went 3-for-3 in the second. Over his past 11 games, LaDuca is 24-44 (.571).
It figures he’d be in the middle of this resurgence.
Indeed, this is a shortstop who can beat you in multiple ways.
“A lot of people talk about the ground balls he fields,” said senior catcher Sam Schuster. “He covers so much ground and has the arm strength. But the thing he does best is his second instinct to make the right play.”
Schuster also said LaDuca’s most special quality is that “he’s loose” and “doesn’t press.”
Through W&J’s 21 games, LaDuca is 34-for-89 (.382 ) with four doubles, two triples and a home run. He has a .472 on-base percentage with 13 walks and three hit by pitches. LaDuca has a .506.slugging percentage and a .978 OPS.
LaDuca has 11 multiple hit games and is 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts.
His defensive game remains elite.
“I would say defense was my strength coming to W&J,” LaDuca said. “I’m not the biggest guy. But I can hit. My dad (Sam) was my coach coming up through. He taught me all the fundamentals and the basics.
“I like being in those (tense and intense) situations,” said LaDuca, who is a junior. “I don’t feel pressure. I trust in myself that if I have a chance to end a game, I’m going to do that.
“It’s fun and I smile. You don’t get that many opportunities to do it and when I am in those situations, I just let it go. Before I came here, I don’t remember being in a situation to get a walk-off hit.”
W&J coach Jeff Mountain said LaDuca’s value is obvious to those in the program. He added that the standout shortstop should never be taken for granted.
“I think a lot of what Jacob does,” Mountain said. “He doesn’t get noticed because he makes routine plays so well and that doesn’t happen all the time at our level. He makes a lot of great plays, special plays. You lean on guys like him.
“I believe in strong defense up the middle and he is a big part of that for us. Jacob has gotten stronger and his arm’s gotten stronger. He has become a better offensive player and his instincts are great. He’s a coach’s son and that can make a difference in learning the game. You see fewer and fewer guys like him.”
W&J continues its PAC schedule with doubleheaders later in the week, at Grove City Friday and at Waynesburg Saturday.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games this season,” LaDuca said of the Presidents’ six come-from-behind- victories. “We have confidence in any situation. If the opportunity presents itself to help us win another game, I’ll be ready to do my part.”