After unfulfilling year at Tennessee, Norwin grad Jake Kendro finds his groove with Pitt baseball

During his freshman baseball season at Tennessee, Jake Kendro did not have to face LSU’s Paul Skenes, who became, of course, the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not that the Norwin grad would have backed down from the challenge.

Skenes wasn’t the only SEC pitcher Kendro didn’t face. In fact, he spent most of his season with the Vols seeing only spot duty. He made seven starts but had only 32 at-bats, getting seven hits (.219). Four of those hits were for extra bases, including his first collegiate home run (against Dayton).

Once the season was over — Tennessee qualified for the College World Series — Kendro did some reassessing. He knew he had the chops to play big-time college baseball. After all, not just anyone gets recruited by one of the top teams in arguably the country’s best baseball conference.

He just wasn’t getting the chances he had hoped for to prove it.

So Kendro entered the transfer portal and wound up someplace familiar and comfortable: Pitt. Panthers coach Mike Bell said he was familiar with Kendro from his high school days. He even recalled Kendro playing a couple of games at Charles L. Cost Field.

“We had two openings in the middle infield,” said Bell, in his sixth season as the Panthers coach. “We brought him in with the idea that we need (him) to fill the shortstop role.”

Kendro has been everything Bell had hoped. He has played solid defense and shown what he can do offensively with regular at-bats.

Kendro started all 32 games in which he has appeared (entering the week of April 22), hitting .283 with seven homers, 19 RBIs and 19 runs. He has come up big against some of Pitt’s toughest opponents:

• He was 3 for 11, including a homer, in a three-game series against current No. 11 North Carolina, which swept Pitt but won the three games by a total of five runs.

• He was 4 for 11 with a homer, two RBIs and a pair of runs against No. 23 Virginia Tech.

• He homered and drove in a pair in an 11-10 victory over No. 7 Duke.

It’s the kind of playing time and production Kendro had hoped for at Tennessee. Still, he said he doesn’t regret his experience with the Vols.

“The biggest thing I took away was my learning experience, I’d say,” he said. “(Infielder) Maui (Ahuna) kind of took me under his wing and kind of showed me the ropes of college ball a little bit. … I was kind of like a sponge. I really soaked in everything.”

By not getting regular plate appearances, Kendro said he struggled to find his rhythm offensively. That wasn’t a problem at Pitt (16-21, 5-16 ACC), as he hit safely in 12 of his first 13 games.

Besides having regular at-bats, Kendro said part of his improvement can be attributed to a subtle mechanics change made by assistant coach Devin Mesoraco. Kendro had a tendency to hold his hands in a position that put the bat almost straight up in the air.

Mesoraco suggested he try holding his hands in a manner that makes the bat “flatter” in his stance.

“It was really just the bat path,” Kendro said. “It just allows me to be more on plane.”

The new approach has allowed Kendro to show off his power. His seven home runs are tied for third on the team.

On the flipside, Kendro has only two other extra-base hits — a pair of doubles — and still strikes out a little too much for his liking. Bell said that part of his offense remains a work in progress.

“I think just an understanding of plate coverage, just eliminate some swings and misses,” Bell said. “When he puts himself in hitter’s counts, he can do some damage. But I think there’s some room in there for some doubles as well.

“But he’s done a great job of not trying to do too much, and he’s had some really big hits for us. I think he’s been very consistent throughout. I think that’s one of the things I really like about his game: You kind of know what you’re getting each and every day.”

Defensively, he has arguably the toughest job on the field manning shortstop. He is fielding at a .933 clip, but Bell said Kendro’s fielding percentage doesn’t tell the whole story.

“The tool set is there,” the coach said. “He can make all the plays. He plays with a very calm presence about him at short. Very under control. … He’s very rangy, and he can get to all the balls.”

Kendro doesn’t downplay the significance of playing close to home. The familiarity with his surroundings and proximity to family, he said, have been a big boost.

“Being seven-and-a-half hours away and not seeing your family or grandparents or sister or anything like that, it takes a toll on you,” he said. “Just having the support from my family every game is awesome.

“I felt comfortable ever since I set foot on campus. In my mind, I know I’m good enough to be here. … I don’t want to come off sounding cocky, but, in my mind, I think I’m good enough to be out there and compete against anybody.”

Kendro isn’t the only one who thinks that way.

Bell said he believes college won’t be the last stop on Kendro’s baseball journey. With this being, essentially, his first real season of college baseball, Kendro is starting to see only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his ability.

“If he can continue to work to reduce some of the swing-and-miss and still stay consistent with the high-level shortstop play,” Bell said, “there’s no reason he can’t play baseball at the next level.”