Mullis earns second-straight 2A All-State selection

Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Jake Mullis gets ready for a pitch during his one-hitter against Triton Central in regional.

When the 2007 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association announced its All-State team, North Putnam's Jake Mullis earned his second straight Class 2A All-State nod.

In his senior season, Mullis produced some very impressive numbers while helping lead the North Putnam baseball squad to its Semistate appearance.

"I think he got better as the year went along," North Putnam head coach Norm Fish said. "He did a better job of mixing up his pitches."

On the mound, Mullis recorded 148 strikeouts in 92 innings. His 14 wins this season set a school-record. His .45 earned run average was among the tops in the state. And as his opponents learned during the season, Mullis was a two-headed monster.

Mullis, not only dominated on the mound, he also dominated at the plate. He batted .401 with 43 hits and 21 RBI. He also deposited five balls over the fence and collected nine doubles.

Mullis amassed 22 stolen bases, which was tied for team high.

The senior ended his Cougar career with school-records in batting average with an average of .369 and strikeouts, collecting a total of 311 in three seasons.

When looking at the stats, most might be content, but Fish noted one thing he would like to see Mullis improve upon as he enters the next phase of his baseball career.

"I think throwing more breaking balls at different times in the count," he said.

Although not recruited as heavily as most expected, the Cougar hurler had multiple schools looking at him.

"He was pretty actively recruited by six or seven schools," Fish said.

Of interested schools, Fish thinks it comes down to three -- Marian College, Taylor University and Saint Joseph's College. No matter where his destination is, Fish believes success is in his future.

"I think he'll be able to play at any one of them," Fish commented. "I think he could have a great college career."

Mullis is keeping his edge by playing for the Byron Cox Post 72 Legion baseball team out of Crawfordsville, where he has already put up a 15 strikeout, no-hit performance.

When asked about a moment that he thought defined Mullis' high school career, Fish chose two.

"I think setting the school record for strikeouts in his career. He passed Randy Collier for that," he said.

Fish noted that after high school and college, Collier was drafted by the Phillies.

"But his best game from start to finish was his game against Wapahani. He dominated them," Fish commented. "The regional really prepared him for that."

The regional action Fish referred to was Mullis' performance against Triton Central. After handling the Tigers most of the game, Mullis got into a seventh inning jam but dug in and pitched his way out of it.

"That was the game he had to work the hardest," Fish said.

Mullis also competed in the Hoosier Diamond Baseball Classic. The game is an invitation only event for top talents from Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The games were played at Tournament Field in Noblesville in mid-June.

In two games, Mullis saw action on the mound for two innings, throwing for no hits, no walks and two strikeouts. However, Mullis struggled at the plate, going 0-for-3 with an RBI.

Mullis is a candidate for the 2007 Indiana Mr. Baseball title.

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