Huntingdon Valley’s season ended in disappointment, a 9-5 home loss to Roslyn in
the Lower Montco American Legion semifinal round. But along the way, during and
even after the 24-game season, Valley had plenty of which to be
proud.
Valley finished with an overall record of 16-7-1, easily good for
its best record in team history. It also came within one win of having the
opportunity to challenge Fort Washington for the league title on the final day
of the season. And Valley, coached by Evan Horn, did all of this after losing a
few of its key players from the past two seasons.
A lot of that success
was made possible by Jake Yannessa, Valley’s starting shortstop, who was
responsible for the final piece of good news that Valley would receive this
weekend.
Last week, Yannessa, who is also a pitcher, earned the Lower
Montco American Legion league MVP Award.
In his first and only year in
the league, Yannessa, a Springfield High School product, led Valley to its first
postseason appearance in 10 years.
He finished with an incredible batting
average of .422 to go along with 29 hits, 27 runs, 20 walks and 17 stolen bases,
while being named as a Second Team All-League shortstop. On the mound, he
compiled a 4-1 record with a 1.69 ERA and 42 strikeouts, while earning First
Team All-League pitching honors.
His season, which almost didn’t even
happen, was remarkable to say the least.
“He called me and asked if I had
an opening on my team,” Horn said. “He came out, made the team and was our best
player. I knew he was the best player in the league before he started and we
just had to see what we could get out of him. He came in with what I was told
was a bunch of ‘baggage’ and I saw nothing of what was told to me about
him.”
Yannessa was passed up by Fort Washington and was unable to play
for Cedarbrook and Roslyn due to their rosters already being full. He had played
non-legion ball, AAU ball and had previously played at Springfield two seasons
earlier, when he was also selected to the Carpenter Cup team, but was left
without a team until Horn gave him the chance.
“I didn’t expect to even
be playing on a team this year to be honest,” Yannessa said. “Lou Lombardo
(general manager) was good enough to sign me over to Valley and I ended up with
a great group of guys. I wouldn’t say I expected any of this, but I was and am
happy about all of it for sure.”
Yannessa was ruled ineligible to play in
his senior year at Springfield, as he attended Chestnut Hill Academy for one
year and lost his athletic eligibility following his junior year of high
school.
And after having trouble finding a new home for himself on the
diamond, Horn pointed out that he couldn’t have asked for anymore from the
19-year-old ballplayer.
“Jake always gives 100 percent,” Horn said. “He
doesn’t take a pitch off. I compare him to a Pete Rose, ‘Charlie Hustle’ type of
player. I was blessed to have him on my team for one year and I was not
surprised by his numbers. His leadership was there on the field and I didn’t see
a better player in the league than him. We had a very deep pitching staff and
team, but he was a huge reason for our success.”
Yannessa played in every
single inning of every game this past year for Valley, sans the final three
innings of the final regular season game, one which had no significance to the
standings or playoff bracket.
“He wants to be the best,” Horn said. “He
tries to be the best and he strives to be the best.”
Yannessa has been
playing baseball for as long as he can remember. When asked, he spoke of photo
albums which contain pictures of him playing baseball with his dad as early as
15 years ago, when he was only four-years-old.
Along with catcher Jake
Madnick, first baseman Chris Ruhl, outfielder Matt Meyers and designated hitter
Robert Hoffman, Yannessa was one of four First Team All-League players on the
Valley roster.
“I was ecstatic and extremely pleased when I found out
that I won MVP and when I saw that Jake (Madnick) came in third, too,” Yannessa
said. “We had a great showing at Valley this year. I’m happy for the
organization and my team. Coach Horn helped me a lot and the success was a big
combination between him and everybody. We hit it off from the very
start.”
After this summer, Yannessa, who has played for travel teams and
in showcases that took place all the way down to Virginia and Georgia, will move
on to DeSales University, where he will be brought in to play shortstop for the
foreseeable future.
If he can repeat his performance from this summer,
there is no reason to believe that Yannessa will see much time on the bench
while with his new team.
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