BEYOND THE SCOREBOARD
An occasional sports feature highlighting the unique stories of local athletes and coaches.
Keystone College hadn’t hit all afternoon. The Giants found themselves down 8-0 in the eighth inning against Penn State Brandywine on Friday in the United East Conference playoffs.
Longtime baseball coach Jamie Shevchik’s wins stood at 799 — one away from a giant milestone. Frustration filled the dugout in the season’s biggest game so far.
And then the bats came alive. Keystone reached home plate 10 times in the bottom of the eighth inning, thanks to hits, steals and walks. Shocked fans exchanged high fives and hugs as Keystone took the lead.
“Do you believe in miracles?” the game’s announcer asked over the public address system.
The Giants’ 10-8 win secured Shevchik’s 800th victory as head coach at Keystone.
“I've been coaching for 25 years, and I've never been part of a baseball game ever like that my entire life,” he said after the game, surrounded by players and balloons. “It couldn't have happened on a better day, in a better situation. It's pretty cool.”
Winning tradition
Words on the wall inside the dugout remind players about what it means to be part of the team: “Playing at KC is a privilege. Winning at KC is a tradition.”
Shevchik dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. When that didn’t work out, he used his passion to pursue a different career on the diamond.
Shevchik, who played for the Giants and returned there in 1998 as an assistant, has served as head coach since the 2002 season. He credits those around him for his success.
“There's no way that we can accomplish what we did, win 800 games, without really good baseball players and having really good coaches that are going out and recruiting those kids and helping mentor those kids the same way that I've hopefully had a hand in mentoring them,” he said. “So if we can continue that cycle, then we're going to keep turning out some really good baseball players.”
Win No. 799
The sky was without clouds on Monday afternoon, as Keystone hosted Alvernia University at the field named for Christy Mathewson, an inaugural inductee to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Factoryville native enrolled at Keystone Academy in 1895 and served as captain of the baseball team. His 16-year career with the New York Giants serves as the inspiration for Keystone’s mascot.
Giants fans filled the bleachers. Foul balls splashed into the South Branch of Tunkhannock Creek. Hot bats put Keystone up 3-0 in the first inning over the team from Reading.
Shevchik leaned against the dugout fence, his assistant coaches at his side. Those assistants once played for the coach.
Ryan Smyth, associate head coach, played for Shevchik for two years and has coached at this side the last 15.
“He's allowed myself and all the other young assistant coaches that have come through here to grow as a coach. You know, fall on your face and make mistakes, but learn from them and become a better coach through those mistakes,” said Smyth, after he watered the field pre-game. “And I think that's a part of the reason that's kept me here for so long.”
Keystone went on to win the game 8-1, for Shevchik’s 799th victory.
‘Addicted to baseball’
Shevchik loves everything about baseball.
“People are addicted to certain things, and I'm addicted to baseball,” he said. “I think about it 24/7, I watch it at night. I drive my wife nuts over it. She says, ‘I've never seen anybody addicted to something so much.’ But it could be worse, right?”
Shevchik played baseball for Mid Valley High School, and in 1993 and 1994, he pitched and played in the outfield for the Giants. He continued his collegiate playing career at East Stroudsburg University.
“When my dream of playing professional baseball didn't happen years ago, the next best thing was to try to get other people the opportunity to get there as well,” he said.
Under Shevchik’s leadership, Keystone has consistently ranked among the top 20 Division III teams in the nation. The team won its 20th consecutive conference championship last year and is the top seed for the United East Conference playoffs.
During the summer, he’s the manager for the Brewster Whitecaps, part of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The league is the premier collegiate summer baseball league in the nation. There are more than 370 active league alumni playing in the major leagues and more than 1,600 all-time.
He and wife, Maria, raise their three daughters in Newton Twp. He wears a bracelet one of his daughters made, with his number, 21.
“Quality of life is important to me. I'm not chasing some Division I, major league job,” he said. “I can't imagine being anywhere else.”
Uncertainty at Keystone
Financial struggles caused an uncertain future for Keystone College over the last few years. A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit last year assumed ownership of Keystone, a long-awaited step meant to assure the school’s survival. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education reaffirmed the school’s accreditation in February.
Through the fear, success on the baseball field remained a steady source of pride on campus.
“The effect on morale is just marvelous, and that's really, really important, especially where we've been over the last two years,” Keystone President John Pullo said.
Pullo called Shevchik’s accomplishment a “remarkable feat.”
“This is such a gem to have a program with a record like this,” Pullo said. “But more importantly, obviously, what comes out of the program are these fine young men with unbelievable character.”
Coach and a role model
Cooper Fesh comes from a baseball family, and he’s known Shevchik since childhood. When it came time to pick a college, the junior from Connecticut wanted to attend Keystone.
“It's just honestly an honor to be on his team and play for him every single day,” the catcher said. “Eight hundred wins is insane … I'm just proud to be part of this team and everything like that, and be on his roster.”
Fesh is a sport and recreation management major.
“I'm hoping to stay in the sports field, maybe become a coach, just like Coach Shev, following his footsteps,” Fesh said.
Shevchik serves as a role model for student-athletes, said Kacy Manning, director of athletics.
“You don't get there just by knowing baseball, right? You get there, you know, because Jamie knows how to lead a program,” Manning said of the coach’s 800 wins. “He knows how to support these guys on and off the field, and the impact he's had on them by holding them accountable and helping them grow is really what defines his career.”
Bonds form on the field and in the dugout that go beyond the game. He’s officiated the weddings of five of his former players.
“For a player, to ask to be a part of their biggest day in their life … you can't put a price tag on that, and you can't put a bigger win on an occasion like that,” he said.
He’s had Keystone players drafted to play professional baseball, but playing after college isn’t the main goal.
“Ultimately, what we're doing here is, we're trying to develop good husbands and really good fathers,” Shevchik said. “And I think the greatest victories that we've ever had, or I've ever had, is watching these kids come through this program and turn into a really good husband and a really good father somewhere down the road. That's what really matters, and what we do.”
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Editor’s note: Keystone College President John Pullo is a WVIA board member.
