- Video shows softball, pitching practice, and the USA U18 Men's National Softball team competing in the World Cup Qualifiers.
- Frontier High School senior, Jackson Jordan, earned his spot on the USA U18 Men's National Softball team as one of four pitchers after less than a year and a half of experience. Going into the World Cup Qualifiers as underdogs, ranked 5th out of 6 teams, the team looked to steal the gold from Venezuela in the final faceoff.
- UPDATE: USA Men's 18U team made it to the bronze medal game against Canada where they lost 4-1. It was their first medal game appearance in 34 years and the highest finish since 1989.
For many high school ball players, they dream of a chance to throw a baseball on a professional diamond, but one senior at Frontier High School got a chance to showcase his skills on the international stage, throwing a softball.
Jackson Jordan is no stranger stepping on the mound, but life threw him a changeup.
“When I played baseball, I was too mental,” Jordan said.
After dealing with the pressure of playing baseball for seven years, including one year of high school ball at Frontier, Jordan picked up a softball to help some of the girls after practice at the Bakersfield Baseball Academy.
“I think because it came so naturally to me, softball, there wasn’t a lot of pressure with it,” Jordan explained.
One of the pitching coaches noticed him throwing underhand and got in touch with Coach Greg Hicks, the assistant coach for the Men’s USA National fastpitch softball team, who admired Jordan’s initiative to step up to the plate.
“He’s got a passion to learn the game, and to learn the skills necessary to compete," Hicks said. "Pitching is a little different animal than most of the other positions so you really have to want to do that, but he taught himself."
Jordan made the USA Junior Men’s National team as one of four pitchers after less than a year and a half of experience.
His pitches top out at 73 mile per hour.
That team traveled to Colombia in September for the World Cup Qualifying tournament.
“We were like celebrities there," Jordan smiled. "It was crazy. Everyone wanted pictures with us, and it was a surreal moment for sure.”
While Jordan’s parents couldn’t attend the world qualifier tournament in person, they watched the games on live stream and support him at all the local California games.
“That’s one thing about being a pitcher," George Jordan, Jackson's dad said. "You have a team behind you, but you’re on your own for a lot of it, just you and your catcher.”
The USA Men’s National team competed against six teams going in as the underdogs, ranking fifth.
Their gold medal game was a faceoff between USA and Venezuela, the number one ranked team at the World Qualifier.
“We were super hyped for it, and then first at bat of the game, someone hit a homerun so we were a little stressed out at that moment,” Jordan remembered.
In the same inning, team USA came back, putting up three points.
USA lead the end of the game six to one in the seventh inning.
Another pitcher, Cody Gibbons dominated in the circle with two outs.
“He put a few runners on. He walked a few runners on, so I think we were all a little on edge, but once we got to two outs and were just waiting for that third out. We knew we had it,” Jordan said.
The USA U18 Men's National softball team took home the gold for the first time in 30 years.
They will play in the World Cup against the best teams across the globe in November in Sonora, Mexico.
“Getting to wear team USA across your chest," Jordan said. "It’s awesome.”
Jordan and his coaches hope to revitalize the passion for men’s fast pitch softball here in Bakersfield and welcome more people to play
If you’re interested you can follow the Bakersfield Baseball Academy on Instagram to reach out for more information on how to get involved.
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