Off-season work has helped Timothy Christian’s Jimmy Allen take the next step on the baseball field.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
Timothy Christian junior shortstop Jimmy Allen wanted to continue to get better this past off-season.
So he did something about it.
“I put in a lot of work in the off-season,” he said. “In the winter I hit the weight room hard. That’s been the biggest difference. I’m definitely stronger at the plate.”
And Allen has the numbers to back that up. In Timothy’s first 25 games, he was hitting an impressive .481 with 39 hits in 81 at-bats. He was leading the team in a number of offensive statistical categories including runs scored (32), RBI (31) and stolen bases (20). Included in those 39 hits were 12 doubles, four triples and two home runs. He had a .587 on-base percentage and an .802 slugging percentage.
Even more impressive, Allen had struck out only four times in 104 plate appearances.
“I haven’t changed too much at the plate,” he said. “I opened up my stance a little instead of being closed and I have better vision with the pitcher. I’m working the count well and making the pitcher throw a lot of pitches. I hunt fastballs. I don’t want to see too many off-speed pitches.”
Allen has been equally up to snuff in the field where he had made only four errors in 104 total chances through the team’s first 25 games. He’s also been part of three turned double plays.
“I’ve always been a steady defender,” he said. “This off-season I put in a lot more work than usual with groundballs. I’ve improved there.”
Allen also dabbles in pitching for the Trojans. “I pitch a little bit,” he said. “I’m a fine pitcher, but I’m a lot better hitter and defender than I am a pitcher.”
Allen is a three-sport athlete at Timothy, also playing soccer and basketball. He said baseball is his favorite of the three.
“It gets crazy playing three sports,” he said. “You have to find any little time to do your homework. It’s definitely a challenge playing three sports, but you have to find the time to do your schoolwork.”
In the summer, Allen plays with the Elite Baseball Training program out of Chicago. “That’s definitely helped out,” he said. “We have Wednesday night hitting in the winter and defensive instruction on the weekend. Baseball definitely is my favorite sport and I’d like to see how far I can go with it. It’s always been my passion.”
Allen said his journey on the Timothy Christian baseball team where he’s been on the varsity since freshman year has been a fun one.
“It’s been a lot of fun getting to know the guys,” he said. “Freshman year I was terrified of the seniors, but they were nice to me. It’s been really fun. All my good friends play baseball.”
Allen, who has attended Timothy Christian Schools since kindergarten, is no slouch in the classroom either where he sports a 3.44 grade-point average (3.67 over the last three semesters). Allen said he’s thinking about some sort of business, financial/accounting major in college.
“I love Timothy,” he said. “It’s a really small school. It’s a great community where everybody cares for each other. The teachers are willing to help you out with everything.”
Allen and Timothy Christian are about to embark on the Class 2A state playoffs. Timothy hosts a regional and will open up postseason play Thursday at home. The Trojans are a No. 3 sub-sectional seed in the Class 2A IC Catholic Prep sectional.
“We’re doing pretty well this year,” he said. “The big thing is we have really good chemistry. Everybody likes each other. It’s a great time.”
