Eastern baseball head coach Jim Schmitz first tried using senior Jordan Kreke as a pitcher last fall.

Kreke usually plays shortstop or third base, but because of an arm injury to junior Scott Foley, Kreke was called upon to try pitching.

“I knew I had a good arm going in and, one day, I finally got the chance to throw a few pitches,” Kreke said. “It’s always kind of been a dream of mine to pitch because my dad did it.”

His father, Don, pitched in the minor league systems of both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kreke considers his father his biggest influence on his sports career.

“It seems like I’ve been playing baseball since I could walk,” he said. ” My father always had a glove and a ball in my hands.”

Kreke has been used mainly in a middle relief role this season, while also helping out with the closer’s role. On the season, he is 1-0 with a 5.87 ERA in six appearances. He is currently holding opposing batters to a .179 batting average, while pitching 7.2 innings.

Schmitz credits graduate assistant coach Skylar Meade with the realization Kreke had a strong arm.

“We put him on the mound and the first few times he was overthrowing a little bit,” Schmitz said. “Now that he has been out there and pitched a few time, he has become more comfortable and he is able to focus more on his velocity and control. The best thing a pitcher can do is be real aggressive and go attack the zone and that is exactly what Kreke does.”

Kreke’s aggressive style of pitching was on display on March 15 against then-No. 15 Oklahoma. After giving up a three-run home run to the first batter he faced, Kreke retired the final five batters to earn his first career save.

“Those are some of the best hitters in the nation,” Kreke said. “They are human beings just like us, so I just decided to go right after them.”

Kreke considers his velocity his biggest strength on the mound and he also continues to take ground balls to practice his infielding skills.

Junior pitcher and infielder Richie Derbak believes that not only is Kreke a solid baseball player, but also a team leader.

“The whole team really likes to have a good time and have fun, but when the game starts he is one of the leaders that gets us ready to play,” Derbak said.

Kreke’s normal contributions come at the plate.

Before Wednesday’s game, he was batting .397 with three home runs and 18 RBIs.

He has scored 18 runs while only committing two errors in 17 appearances in the field. He leads the team in triples with two.

Schmitz believes Kreke’s development as a pitcher and a hitter is a credit to his nature.

“Kreke is the guy that is a lot of the energy and you need someone like that with so many games on the schedule,” Schmitz said.

Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.