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JFK has high hopes heading into coach’s final year

WARREN — Don Lee is entering his 34th year coaching the John F. Kennedy baseball team, and he plans on retiring after the season.

He admits he has a “bucket list” of things he wants to do before it’s too late. One of them is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium in the United States, but he has another goal that’s a little closer to home — win a state championship.

“Oh yeah,” Lee said with a laugh. “That’s definitely on the list.”

The way things are going at JFK this year, it’s not out of the question.

The football team won the Division VI state championship in December, and the basketball team won a district title and came up just a few points shy of a regional crown as well. Lee said the Eagles’ baseball team has the talent to stack up to those lofty expectations.

“They kind of of put the pressure on me,” Lee said. “I’m excited. This is definitely one of my better teams.”

JFK brings back two top-end starters in seniors Ryan Lee and Drew Mendik. Coach Lee expects his grandson, Ryan, a left-hander, and Mendik, a hard-throwing righty, to be even better than last year, when the pair led the Eagles to a district final appearance. Don brought in JFK graduate Carmen DeChristofaro, who pitched at John Carroll University and Cleveland State University after high school, as a pitching coach.

Don said the pitching staff is deep and talented, with as many as five quality starters and 11 total pitchers.

“(DeChristofaro) has been helping these guys a lot, and they’ve been learning a lot from him,” Don Lee said. “They’ve learned new pitches, and a lot of stuff that college coaches would teach. That’s something that’s going to help the program a lot this year. Carmen’s really worked hard with them — he’s put in a lot of time with them — and he’s helped my pitching staff quite a bit, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how they do this year compared to last year.”

The depth is especially important because of a newly implemented statewide rule in which players are on strict pitch counts. If a pitcher throws 31-50 pitches, one day of rest is required. Fifty-one to 75 pitches results in two days rest, and 76-125 requires three days rest. The maximum number of pitches for an athlete is 125 (although a pitcher can finish a current batter if he reaches the maximum during that at-bat).

Although, pitching wasn’t the reason the Eagles lost, 11-8, to Fairport Harding in last year’s district championship. JFK, which finished 10-12, committed six errors in the game, something Don Lee hopes is cleaned up.

“Hopefully they’ve grown a little bit more (on defense),” said Lee, who pointed out how the Eagles rallied from a six-run deficit to tie the district final only to lose it in the seventh because of their defense. “A lot of those juniors haven’t forgotten that. They’re on a mission.”

Ryan Lee and Mendik also lead a solid hitting club. Ryan paced JFK with a .434 batting average, while Mendik had a team-high 28 RBIs to go along with a .406 average. They’re not the only contributors returning as Alex Burzysnki is a powerful hitter, and Isaac Hadley and Greg Valent add more arms to a strong rotation. In fact, the Eagles lost just one starter (catcher Anthony Marino) from 2016.

It all adds up to a team that should be a major contender in Don Lee’s final season. Regardless, Lee feels like he’s going out on top.

“I’m really looking forward to (retirement),” he said. “My grandson Ryan graduates, and whatever he decides to do, if he goes on to play college ball, I want to be able to go watch him. I have a bucket list. I want to go visit every major-league ballpark in the United States. I’ll be 67 in April, and it’s just time. I’ve enjoyed 34 years at Kennedy, and it’s just time to give it up.”

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