Marder seizes the moment
NPHS second baseman does his best work in the clutch
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers NO TIME TO REST- On Easter Sunday, Newbury Park sophomore second baseman Jack Marder was at NPHS working on fielding drills with his training coach Kelly Paris. In his second season with the Panther varsity squad, Marder is batting .368 with 10 RBI and 10 runs scored in 38 at-bats.

Jack Marder thrives in the pressure situations.

Although he's only a sophomore, Marder's resume as a member of the Newbury Park High baseball team contains several clutch performances at the plate.

In the first round of last year's CIF-Southern Section playoffs, with Newbury Park trailing Edison 30 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, it was Marder's tworun double that fueled a gamewinning rally by the Panthers.

This season, during two of the Panthers' biggest Marmonte League games to date- against Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks- Marder has provided critical, run-scoring hits to help lead his team to victory.

"If he stays calm and doesn't try and do too much, and if he stays true to himself, he's one of the best clutch hitters around," NPHS head coach Scott Drootin said.

Mike Schwartz, a senior catcher/third baseman who bats directly behind Marder in the Panther lineup, said the second baseman always steps up when the team needs him most.

"Against Simi Valley he crushed one off of Nick Barnese for a big two-RBI hit," Schwartz said. "And against Thousand Oaks he was getting an RBI before I came up almost every time. It's been easy coming up behind him."

Marder, who was the only freshman on Newbury Park's league title-winning team last year, takes an aggressive approach when he steps into the batter's box and the game is on the line.

"The one thing that I've learned, especially from playing on this team, is that the batter has a lot less pressure on them than the pitcher," Marder said.

"I don't know if it's that I've just been able to stay calm in those situations, or if the pitcher has gotten rattled and had a tough time throwing strikes, but I've been able to come through because I'm getting great pitches to hit."

Marder also credited the NPHS coaching staff with preparing him for any situation that could arise during the course of a game.

"I don't want to say I get into a lot of those situations, but when I do there's not a lot of pressure on me because I know my coaches and teammates have confidence in me. Worstcase scenario, I've got a great No. 3 hitter batting behind me."

As a freshman, Marder said he wasn't aware that he was going to make the varsity squad until the final roster was posted at the conclusion of tryouts.

When the 2006 season started, Marder wasn't getting on the field much. When he did play, the results weren't what he'd been accustomed to. As the frustration began to mount, Marder received a stern talking to by Drootin and his hitting coach Kelly Paris.

"We kind of ripped into him," Drootin said. "I asked him if I was putting too much pressure on him and if he wanted to go down to the JV team where he could relax.

"He basically said he'd rather eat a can of worms than go to the JV team. He said that if I gave him an opportunity, then he'd work harder. When we got him back into the lineup afterward, he never came out."

Marder began playing second base when Tim Williams went down with an injury. When Williams returned, Marder became Newbury Park's designated hitter.

He finished the season with a .344 batting average, good for fifth on the team. According to Drootin, Marder batted .750 with runners in scoring position during the second half of league play a year ago.

Entering this season, Marder was firmly entrenched as the Panthers' starting second baseman. While he continues to hit well- he was batting .368 heading into spring break- Marder has developed into a strong defensive player as well.

"Defensively, he's money," Schwartz said. "He never makes a bad play and can turn the double play quicker than anyone."

Marder, who is a diabetic and regularly takes insulin, continues to work tirelessly on his game both offensively and defensively. It's not uncommon for him to practice at the NPHS field during the weekends.

If the hard work leads to another Marmonte League title for his team and the school, then Marder doesn't mind putting in the extra effort.

"The league is definitely a lot better this year, and right now we're in first place," he said. "We may have snuck up on teams last year, but there are no surprises this time. We've shown that we're one of the top teams around, and to get the title again would be even better than it was last year."