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Focused on following in the footsteps of the Catholic League, City and State championships-winning boys’ basketball team at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., the baseball club will require similar skill and leadership from its seniors. Fortunately for the East Passyunk Crossing institution, Charlie Jerla and Josh Ockimey abound in ability and authority, with commitments to Marist College and Indiana University, respectively, as proof of their proficiency.
“We definitely have the players to be successful,” Jerla said Tuesday at the school. “We’re coming along and when we put everything together, we’re going to be scary.”
“I think we’re really committed to playing as a team and forgetting about individual achievements,” Ockimey, a fellow 18-year-old, said. “Our mindset is to approach every game with class and leave no stone unturned in finding ways to become better.”
The athletes have plotted their progression under rookie coach Kevin Schneider, with whom they and their peers fraternized March 15 at the inaugural first pitch dinner. During the celebration, Jerla and Ockimey signed with their postsecondary destinations, fulfilling diamond dreams that originated during childhood.
“I definitely feel fortunate,” Ockimey, a two-time All-Catholic first baseman, said of his impending Big 10 Conference journey. “Indiana has a great program, so I’m looking forward to going there after we take care of business here.”
In selecting the Hoosiers, the Southwest Philly slugger, who had previously committed to the University of Arkansas before personnel changes influenced his picking another spot, will head to a unit that is ranked 24th in the country and appeared in last year’s College World Series. Jerla, of the 1500 block of South Second Street, received interest from his future haven last summer and fall and yearns to keep the Red Foxes in the hunt for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference renown.
“It’s definitely an established program,” the Pennsport dweller said, “and I just felt it would be the right place for me to grow.”
In their three-plus seasons at Neumann-Goretti, the teenagers have come to strengthen the baseball tradition that led them to choose the facility in the first place. With two Catholic League titles and three Class AA City crowns, they have become local forces eager to repel all challengers.
“Coming here, we had great teammates who motivated us,” Ockimey said. “Now, other guys are looking up to us.”
“That fact and the success we’ve had have helped us to gain in confidence,” Jerla, an outfielder and pitcher, said. “There’s that sense of accomplishment and knowledge that our hard work and our parents’ efforts have paid off.”
The latter player fell for baseball by age 4, with an uncle proving the originator of his obsession. A South Philly native, he moved to Florida as a boy and joined his first travel team, the Florida Scorpions, at 9.
“I just enjoyed the instruction and the chance to perform,” Jerla, whose other South Philly tutelage-bearing sites include the Edward O’Malley Athletic Association, 144 Moore St., and Shot Tower Playground, 131 Carpenter St., said.
Beckoned to bases at age 5, Ockimey gained a great sense of his potential five years into his maturation when Steve Bandura, who runs the Anderson Monarchs out of the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 744 S. 17th St., encouraged him to play for the Philadelphia Stars. With time at the Delaware Valley Youth Athletic Association, 2840 S. 18th St., as well, he had grown comfortable with pressure situations by the time, as a member of the Tri-State Arsenal, he heard from now-former Neumann-Goretti coach Mike Zolk that he should matriculate at the school.
“That kind of came out of nowhere, but I’ve loved helping this team however I can,” Ockimey, a four-year starter who received college interest as a freshman, said of his tenure as a potent left-handed bat in the lineup and confident presence on the bench.
The young man has especially displayed his diligence in clutch situations, particularly in playoff contests. He will forever live in Saints lore for keeping his club alive in a 2011 Catholic League semifinal by smacking a two-run home run that helped to turn a 13-3 deficit against La Salle into an 18-13 win. Jerla has also shown resolve in postseason duels, picking up the victory in last year’s losers bracket game versus Cardinal O’Hara, an 8-7 extra-inning triumph, and stroking three hits in a 5-2 win over Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., in May 30’s Class AA City title matchup at Richie Ashburn Field, 20th Street and Pattison Avenue.
“We’ve definitely been tested,” Ockimey, who won the Florida-situated Louisville Slugger bat challenge in October and worked out at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox the next month, said of the hurdles he and Jerla, also his teammate for the Marzano Scout League’s Philly Bandits, have faced and conquered.
The players confided they await battles against fellow Blue Division biggies Bonner-Prendergast, Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Carroll but said the key to ensuring a memorable year is giving each opponent their best. The Saints, 2-1 when opening the week, throttled West Catholic 15-0 at home Tuesday, with Ockimey tallying two hits, as many walks and four runs scored and Jerla earning the win, clubbing two hits and knocking in a pair of runs, and faced the Burrs on the road yesterday in a game that ended after press time. They will travel to Penn Charter tomorrow and venture to Warminster Monday to face Wood.
“We want to go all the way to the states and win,” Ockimey, reflecting on a painful semifinal loss two years ago, said.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Jerla added, “and every day along the way is important.” ■
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124. Comment at southphillyreview.com/sports/features.
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