Nicholls’ Jaramillo credits new plate approach for big success

Nicholls State senior outfielder and leadoff hitter Bear Comer has great speed, but he hasn’t been stealing very many bases lately.

Comer’s not injured, he says he’s as close to 100 percent healthy as possible in the back-end of a grueling Southland Conference schedule.

He’s also not struggling to pick up the baseball off a pitcher’s hands – he claims to see it just fine.

Comer is just doing whatever he can to not take the bat out of the hands of the Colonels’ next hitter in the lineup, senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo, who has firmly established himself as Nicholls’ most consistent hitter.

“My stolen bases aren’t as good as what they were last year,” Comer said. “But why steal and risk getting thrown out when Chase is going to put the ball in play and get me to third base regardless? He likes swinging ahead in counts and I’m not going to take him out of a situation by running where he can move myself as the runner to third base, or maybe even to home in just one swing.”

Jaramillo is currently the one hitter opponents fear the most in Nicholls’ lineup, hitting for a .366 batting average. Inside of that lofty stat come others like being the Colonels’ leader in runs scored, hits, total bases and slugging percentage.

“He’s our best hitter right now. There’s no doubt about it,” Comer said of his teammate. “He’s proven it all season long. Most hitters go through slumps and, knock on wood, Chase just hasn’t done that yet this year.”

Things didn’t always come this easy for Nicholls’ prolific two-hole hitter.

Jaramillo started his career with a two-year stay at Alabama Southern Community College, where he hit for a .340 average with eight home runs as a sophomore.

Those lofty numbers put his scent into the noses of several prominent programs across the Southeast.

“He had offers from Southern Miss and South Alabama, too, and those are just the ones I know of,” Colonels coach Seth Thibodeaux said.

But Jaramillo opted to sign with Nicholls, because he said he played in high school and junior college with some of the players on the team, like Comer. That familiarity was one reason, but he also added it’s not his style to want to continue someone else’s legacy. He wanted to help turn a program into a winner.

“This was a building program. That was a big thing for me,” Jaramillo said. “A lot of people want to go to a school that automatically wins 40 games a year. But some people, like myself, want to go to a school where they can help build a program and help them succeed. That’s why I came here.”

With turning the program around in mind, Jaramillo would probably be the first person to admit his junior season didn’t fully go the way he planned in Thibodaux.

The shortstop hit .277 with four home runs and 35 RBIs, while starting all 56 of Nicholls’ games at shortstop.

For most, a .277 average isn’t bad, but Jaramillo and Thibodeaux both knew he was a better player than that.

“It was tough for Chase, because he had so much success in junior college,” Thibodeaux said. “We always knew he was a really good hitter, but sometimes in Division I baseball, you get humbled really quick.”

The reason Jaramillo would sometimes be off balance was because of his plate discipline. Both hitter and coach say the shortstop would struggle to see the right pitches and he’d struggle to be patient at the plate.

“I needed to work on the mental side of hitting,” Jaramillo said. “I always knew I had a good swing. I just didn’t have a very good approach every time I went to the plate. I had to be more patient and more mature at the plate.”

“Last year, he’d come back into the dugout frustrated and say ‘Coach, when am I going to get a fastball?'” Thibodeaux said. “And you’re just thinking to yourself and telling him ‘Well, why would they give you a fastball if you can’t hit a breaking ball?’ That was the adjustment for him. But instead of getting frustrated, he worked on it.”

With 2010’s lessons in the back of his mind, the road to the turnaround began in the Northwoods League, a wooden bat winter league, where some of the best collegiate baseball players play in the offseason.

Not being able to jerk baseballs into the gap at will with an aluminum bat in his hands taught the shortstop that selectivity he sought.

“Playing there, I was able to see some pretty good pitching,” Jaramillo said. “I knew that I had to make those adjustments or I wouldn’t be able to get on base.”

With the improvements made, Jaramillo returned to Thibodaux and the results speak for themselves, as he’s made his mark as one of the Southland’s best hitters.

And with just a handful of games left in his career, his focus isn’t on plate discipline, it’s on leading the Colonels to the Southland Conference Tournament for the second-straight season.

Because building, after all, is what he came to Nicholls to do.

“My mindset’s been the same since I’ve been here. I’m going to play every game like it’s my last,” Jaramillo said. “You never know. We could possibly be done in six games or three games or however you want to put it. But we’re not going to be. We’re going to get into that conference tournament and try as hard as we can to win it. You know, you’re only able to play baseball for so long, so you have to take advantage of it while you’ve got it.”

Nicholls State senior hitter Chase Jaramillo readies for a pitch during a recent game. A new plate approach has pushed Jaramillo to his post as one of the Southland’s top hitters. NSU SPORTS MEDIA