Jordan’s baseball program had become accustomed to its fifth-place slot in the Moore League hierarchy during much of the past decade, always accompanied by no postseason appearances.
The Panthers haven’t had a winning season since 2007 and were 12-36 in league play during the past four years.
Enter the stewardship and discipline of first-year coach Roger Penticoff, and the maturity and leadership of junior ace Michael Hurtado, and things have taken a huge turn for the better.
Through the first 12 games of the 2014 season, the Panthers, now 8-6 overall and 3-4 in league play, already had earned more wins than all of last season.
In 2013, Jordan in the first round of league play lost all four games against the big four of Lakewood, Poly, Millikan and Wilson by a combined score of 45-4.
Although 1-3 in the first round against those same four teams might not seem earth-shattering, Jordan has given up just 11 runs and been in every game.
Jordan is not just competing against league powers. The Panthers already beat Lakewood for the first time in eight years and took Wilson to 15 innings in their first meeting and eight inning in the second before falling.
What has most area baseball aficionados most impressed, though, is the dramatic change defensively. The Panthers have, in the past, looked less than average in the field, with scores of routine errors.
“One of the first things I asked the kids was why they lost so often and they said, ‘We made too many errors,’ so for the first six weeks I didn’t let them pick up a bat. We spent all that time taking ground balls and working on double cuts and doing things over and over until we got it right,” Penticoff said.
“They got a little frustrated, but we made the point and focused on what needed attention, and it’s really paid off.”
Penticoff, 62, started coaching late in life and spent the past seven years at St. Anthony before they parted ways amicably. He took over a reeling program when longtime and popular Jordan coach Marc Prager wanted time off after the graduation of his son Kyle in 2013.
Penticoff and assistant coach Steve Shinar, who calls the pitches and handles pitchers and catchers, has changed not only the culture but expectations as well.
“People told me about the demographics of the school and their record and asked why I’d want to do this,” Penticoff said. “Kids are kids, and they want structure and discipline.
“I love these kids, and they’ve reacted well to what we’re trying to do. I took over programs in decline at Brethren Christian and St. Anthony, took both teams to the playoffs and won four league titles at St. Anthony.”
Area coaches certainly have taken notice.
“The changes Roger has made at Jordan in his first season are incredible,” Wilson coach Andy Hall said. “They play hard and play with fundamentals I haven’t seen there in a long time. No one is taking them lightly anymore.”
Hurtado has served brilliantly as a conduit of Penticoff’s vision to his peers and has been the leader his coach so dearly needed to change expectations.
Hurtado is 6-1 this season, with a 1.30 ERA.
He’s able to use his fastball, curve and change in any count, which has Hurtado atop the area with 57 strikeouts and tied with Wilson’s Tyler Radcliffe in wins (six).
Older brothers Robbie, 21, and Christian, 19, starred at Jordan, but Michael could become the first of the three to make the playoffs.
“I actually learned a lot from my brothers,” Hurtado said. “They taught me you don’t have to be overpowering to be successful as long as you can mix your pitches and hit your spots.”
He has struggled in the past with his grades and credits Prager for getting him to this point.
The former coach’s passion helped Hurtado find a tutor.
When Hurtado, who is 14-8 with 138 strikeouts in his two-plus varsity seasons, is not facing the Panthers’ toughest opponents, he is a key contributor at shortstop and is the No. 3 batter in the lineup.
He has been as lethal at the plate as on the mound, with a .488 average and 21 hits.
“Mike does anything and everything I ask him to do and works his butt off at practice,” Penticoff said. “Because of that, I’ve made him my team captain. He’s a quiet leader, but I’d take 12 of him in a second.”
Hurtado has certainly had plenty of help with production from his cousin Tristan Martinez, Richie De La Torre, Chris Kin and Davon Copeland.
The pressure to be “the guy” is something Hurtado relishes, and the changes Penticoff made have been embraced by the entire team.
“I love pressure and play my best when the pressure is on,” he said. “I never want to let my teammates or coaches down, so I bear down even harder in those moments. Coach Penticoff has been amazing. He taught us stuff we never knew or worked on, and made us believe we can win. He’s actually given us a newly found pride to wear our Jordan gear around town.”
With seven more league games to play, Penticoff has Jordan believing it could finish as high as third place.
And though there is still time to make more history this season, the Panthers coach didn’t hesitate when asked his favorite moment of the season.
“The look in our boys’ eyes when we walked off the field after taking Wilson 15 innings meant so much to me,” he said. “Because you could see they knew they belonged on the same field as the area’s top teams.”
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