Sports
Hazen High Pitcher Named to All-State First Team
Jake Kolterman was recently named to the All-State first baseball team, having led his team this past season to a 13-1 record and the Seamount League Championship while playing with a painful shoulder injury.
The Washington State Baseball Coaches Association recently named Hazen High School's junior pitcher Jake Kolterman to the All-State first baseball team. The recognition was welcome for both Jake's father Scott Kolterman and Hazen head baseball coach Mike Brundage, but given the year he's had, it somehow didn't seem adequate.
Jake played the entire season with a torn labrum and broken bone in his ‘non-throwing’ left shoulder. Most of the time, he never let on the extent of the injury, and his leadership helped propel the Highlanders to a 13-1 record and Seamount League Championship.
Dad Scott breaks down his achievements further:
Find out what's happening in Rentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- Hazen was 5 -1 this season in the games Jake pitched.
- The only loss was a 2-1 thriller with Peninsula High School in the District playoffs. This loss was also the first loss in Jake’s career at Hazen.
- Jake also holds the career record for strikeouts (131 and counting) at Hazen.
Find out what's happening in Rentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"I don’t think people realized how painful and traumatizing the injury was," Scott wrote to Patch. "Almost every time a ball was hit back to the mound, Jake would reach to field it and his left shoulder would dislocate. After the play was over, he would kneel down and pull the shoulder back into place (extremely painful). He would walk back to the mound and start pitching again, like nothing ever happened. The shoulder was so damaged that throws from his teammates/catcher would often dislocate his shoulder as well."
Brundage can attest to Jake's determination. He recalls an incident when Hazen met rival Kennedy where fans were chanting Jake's girlfriend's name in an attempt to shake him. "He dug in and hit a double that day, a triple that day and struck out 11 players," he said. "This was a young athlete who was not cracking under the pressure."
The injury minimized the amount of time Brundage could play him. "When he got on the mound, he wouldn't leave. ... Having your left shoulder being 'out' as a pitcher, it's hard to deal with. ... You could see some velocity pulled off his fast ball, but he battled through it every time. I had to do my due diligence for him to not allow him to hurt himself further. He's a total gamer."Â
Brundage said he couldn't help feeling angry when the Seamount League this year snubbed Jake as league MVP. As a junior, colleges and even professional teams were looking at him, he said. "There's not another kid on our league drawing this type of attention. I was frustrated because the definition of MVP isn't just the fact that you can play every game. The way Jake leads like he does on the field and the clubhouse and how he plays through severe injury, and he still dominated. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have won the games we did with him pitching. And he not only battled injury, he is a good student and great teammate."
Scott reported Jake tried wearing protective sleeves and taping his shoulder in place to restrict the movement, but as the season progressed, the condition worsened. Jake was to have had surgery this summer to repair his shoulder and would spend the next few months in rehabilitation. He hopes to be ready to play in September and to starting visiting colleges in the fall. Oregon State is at the top of his list.
Hazen's baseball program is just one of three that Jake divides his time with. He also plays with the Seattle Stars premiere club and previously played on the Seattle Mariners scout team. The latter has asked him to play for them again this fall, Scott said.
Once he gets going with rehab, "the sky is the limit for this guy," Brundage said. "He has the talent for sure, I could imagine someday I'll be buying a ticket to watch him someday there in the pros."
Lindbergh High School senior Cam Callen was also named to the All-State Second Team.
Editor's Note: Efforts to contact Jake this week were unsuccessful by the time this story was published.Â
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.