Friday Features: West Alabama pitcher Josh Jones living a baseball dream
By Mike Perrin
Josh Jones learned baseball much like millions of youngsters, pitching and catching with dad in the backyard. Only his backyard was a three-minute walk from the beach, four minutes from the mountains and an ocean away from the playing fields of the Gulf South Conference where he is a standout for the
West Alabama Tigers.
Jones is a native of Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, part of Micronesia. The island – about 12 miles long and just over 5 miles wide with a population of about 52,000 – is a U.S. commonwealth, which makes the left-handed pitcher just as American as apple pie (you thought we’d go with baseball there, right?). English is his native tongue, although he also speaks fluent Micronesian.
“Baseball was a family tradition growing up because of my dad,” Jones said. “He is the reason why I’m out here doing what I love. Baseball basically started in our backyard. We used cut-up bats from the woods, tennis balls that we collected from the tennis court and used our hands as our mitts. Coconut trees were our foul territory and telephone pole wires served as our homerun lines.”
Baseball, introduced by American servicemen in World War II, is the most popular sport in the Northern Mariana Islands. Three teams from Saipan have appeared in the Little League World Series.
“Before playing in the U.S., I played in many international tournaments representing my region for eight years in Little League, which I think got me to play college baseball,” Jones said. “I’ve always wanted to play baseball out here since I knew my time with the Little League program was about to end. College baseball was my next goal to go along with getting my education.
“A lot of (guys from home) want to play out here so bad,” he said. “It’s just rare for someone from a small island to get that opportunity. So far, I only know one from back home who is currently playing college baseball, at Treasure Valley Community College in Oregon.”
Jones was Kagman High School’s 2011 Athlete of the Year after lettering in baseball, basketball and volleyball. He helped his teams to four volleyball championships, baseball to three and basketball to two. He led the Northern Mariana Islands national team to a gold medal in the 2010 Micronesian Games, was the North Marianas Amateur Sports Association’s male athlete of the year after helping the national team to another gold in 2011 in the Pacific Games.
Jones spent two years at Colby (Kan.) Community College, where his team won a regional championship. He found his way to Livingston and UWA thanks to connections through his juco coach. Teammate
Jorge Cruz also played at Colby.
Jones has compiled an 11-1 two-year mark at West Alabama, with a 3.40 earned run average. He is 6-0 this season with eight starts in 10 appearances for the 31-11 Tigers, who are tied for second with Delta State (30-13) in the league with a 19-8 mark behind West Florida (28-13, 20-7). Jones’ ERA is 3.54 after allowing 19 earned runs in 48.1 innings on 51 hits with 41 strikeouts. He ranks No. 1 in the GSC with just eight walks allowed. Opposing hitters are batting .262 against the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder.
“I believe my competitiveness has been the key to my success,” said the 2015 All-GSC Tournament performer. “I try to locate pitches low in the zone and mix up speeds. That has been my success since Day One. I try to use my defense to make plays for me when I can.
“Playing in America means so much to me. Having the opportunity to play here and being able to test my talents against other talented players in college baseball is just a blessing.”
Jones was wistful reflecting on his home, saying his last trip there was in the summer of 2014. “Talking about my island makes me miss it so much!” he said. “It’s just typical island life. There are so many things to do back home at a close distance since my island is pretty small. The food is unreal, with many kinds of cuisine.
“We have about six high schools – three public and three private. Our high schools stay on island and compete against each other and teams from other islands come to our island for a championship tournament since our island is the biggest to host.”
Jones, who plans to graduate in the fall, said he believes the GSC race will be tight this season and his Tigers are battling for a shot at hosting the tournament for the second straight year. “Our chances are pretty good,” he said. “I see that it’s much more competitive this year compared to last year because of how tight the standings are at this point. That makes it exciting.”
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9/18/2015 - Mississippi College Looks to Sustain Quick Start.
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10/02/2015 - Union's Morris Not Ready for Rocking Chair.
10/09/2015 - UWA's Mark Grant Learning Lessons From Both His College Sports.
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10/23/2015 - Jessica Codato Finds Friends, Volleyball Success at Valdosta State.
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11/20/2015 - Will Hall Making Waves at West Georgia, Throughout GSC.
11/27/2015 - National Tourney Awaits MC After Month-Long Hiatus.
12/04/2015 - Harlon Hill Finalist Wingo Leaves UNA with Pocket Full of Records.
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1/08/2016 - Christmas Trip a 'Life-Changing' Experience for Lee Baseball.
1/15/2016 - VSU's Thomas Macera Preaches (And Shows) Toughness.
1/22/2016 - Union's Youngsters Spark Surge to Top of GSC Women's Hoops.
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2/19/2016 - Y1K For Union Men's Basketball: Three Bulldogs Reach Career Mark.
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3/25/2016 - Team Leader Kayla Robles Finds Her Voice at Valdosta State.
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4/08/2016 - Kristiansen Leads Lacrosse Revolution at Shorter.
4/15/2016 - Florida Tech Gridiron Star Dreams of Degree, Not NFL Draft.