JFK's Quinn is saving his hits for the postseason

CHEEKTOWAGA - Maybe the John F. Kennedy baseball team’s bats aren’t as smoking as they were last year. But Jimmy Quinn isn’t overly concerned yet. The senior captain is hoping to save the hits for the postseason.

“We’d like to hit the ball a little bit better, but we’re coming along. Not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

After all, the Bears enjoyed a fine regular season at the plate last year, scoring nine runs or more in nine of 12 games – winning them all. But they picked the worst time possible for their lowest offensive output, losing 8-3 to Eden in the opening game of the Section VI playoffs.

Thoughts of an undefeated season ended early for JFK this year with a season-opening loss to Tonawanda. While the scoring hasn’t been at last year’s torrid pace, the Bears are averaging more than seven runs per game. And the best part of all for Kennedy is that things appear destined to get even better as the season moves deeper into May.

“I think we can become scary,” JFL coach Casey Snyder said. “I’m betting on our bats, these guys are going to deliver.”

And Quinn is expected to be in the think if things. He hit .408 with 16 RBIs and six stolen bases last season in the ECIC-IV championship season. The senior is hoping to see his numbers in that range again by the end of this season.

“I’m just looking to keep getting better,” he said. “Really, that’s the goal for everyone. Always improving and making sure you’re doing a little bit better than you did yesterday.”

In his third varsity season, Quinn has also become a leader for the Bears. Each year, Snyder chooses one captain and has the players vote for the other. After the coach chose Ben Zaccagnino, the players voted in Quinn.

His versatility is also a big plus for the Bears. He has the ability to play a variety of positions based on who’s on the mound. In fact, on the roster, his position is simply listed as “utility.”

“He’s a guy I can put pretty much anywhere,” Snyder said. “That really helps when you have guys like that, it makes it easier to move people around.”

Doing it all has been nothing new for Quinn in his athletic career at JFK. He was also a standout guard for the boys basketball team and played split end, cornerback, kicker and punter for the football team.