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Junior Spotlight: C Jake Boice

December 20, 2013

By Greg Williams
WV Director of Scouting

Jake BoiceCertain milestones in baseball have a special place in the record books. For professional hitters the elusive .400 batting average and 3,000 career hits are the ultimate prize. At the high school level, 100 career hits is a benchmark that every player strives to reach.

Parkersburg Catholic catcher Jake Boice has 100 hits well within his grasp and should see that number and surpass it in the early portion of the 2014 season. What makes the feat very special is that Boice is just a junior and is likely to flirt with 200 hits if he stays healthy the next two years.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound left-handed hitter has hit .396 with 55 runs scored and 59 RBI over the span of his first two high school seasons. He has been a model of consistency, tallying 43 hits as a freshman and 39 more as a sophomore to reach his current total of 82 hits. Boyce would need to average 59 hits a season over his final two years to reach 200. It could be a stretch, but the way he has attacked high school pitching early on in his career points to the possibility being real.

Parkersburg Catholic head coach Tom Harvey has high praise for his junior backstop. "Jake is without a doubt one of my favorite players ever. He's such a team guy, leads by example and does anything and everything we ask of him. As a freshman he wanted to catch so bad, however we had a returning all-stater in Zack Romine. Jake and I talked and he realized he would have to help the team in another way. He started every game in left field for us and played very well, hitting over .390. He hit out of the 2-hole as a freshman on a team that lost to the eventual state champs in the regional finals. This past year he slid right in to the catching position. Jake works very hard every practice and leads by example."

The Special Mention Class A All-State selection in 2013 is currently ranked No. 9 in the WV Class of 2015. With his ability to hit and the potential to continue to add to his athletic frame, Joice should be a highly recruited prospect in this class. Add in the fact that he swings from the left side of the plate and college coaches are likely to be hovering around the batting cage to get a look at his abilities for the next two years.

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