CHEYENNE – This weekend will mark the third time Xander Jarosh has played in Cheyenne American Legion Post 6’s Firecracker Tournament.
It’s only the second time he’ll do it wearing a Sixers uniform.
The Cheyenne Central graduate was a man without a team during his sophomore summer. He thought he was going to suit up for Triple Crown Wyoming after the Cheyenne Mustangs organization’s high school squad joined forces with that Colorado group.
That merger never came to fruition.
Jarosh considers himself luckier than his former Mustangs teammates because his cousin was a coach with the Grand Junction, Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Oysters. Jarosh was able to fill in with the Oysters whenever they came to Wyoming in the summer of 2020, which was often because so many tournaments in other states were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jarosh also played a few events with Garrison’s out of Greeley, Colorado, and one event with the Colorado BBs. He ended up getting 45-50 games that year. What could have been a lost summer that stunted his development as a player ended up being fairly normal.
“A lot of my former teammates didn’t play much or at all that year, but I played about as much as a sophomore as I did my freshman year. It wasn’t easy, but it was still pretty beneficial,” said Jarosh, who is in his second season with Post 6. “I felt like I had to prove myself every weekend because the guys seeing me come into their teams weren’t sure about me. They had no idea if I was any good or not.
“I felt like I had to prove that I deserved to be out there with them. That experience helped when I joined Post 6 last year.”
Cheyenne (37-7) opens this year’s Firecracker Tournament against Hastings, Nebraska, at 7:30 tonight at Powers Field.
Jarosh played third base and pitched during his first two seasons of high school, but earned the final spot on the Sixers’ varsity roster as a pitcher-only. He felt like he had to prove himself all over again.
“At first, the guys weren’t sure if I was that good,” Jarosh said. “I worked hard every day, made the most of my opportunities and earned the respect of my teammates and coaches.
“I feel like I’m really part of the Post 6 family now. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to feel that way coming in as a junior. I feel like I’ve earned that.”
The 6-foot-4 right-hander struggled with his command early last season, but logged 34-1/3 innings on the mound. Jarosh went 3-0 with 24 strikeouts and a 3.47 earned-run average.
“He struggled with the feel of his breaking ball early last year,” Cheyenne manager Ty Lain said. “He showed up every day, did his flat ground work, threw his bullpens, did his long toss and was really focused on throwing the ball where he wanted to throw it and mixing speeds the way he wanted to mix speeds.
“It really came along throughout the course of the year, and he pitched some important innings for us.”
Last season was an adjustment for Jarosh. He grew up splitting his practice time between the infield and pitching. Being able to focus on pitching gave him ample time to dial in his control. He also added seven miles per hour to his fastball.
Jarosh had similar command issues earlier this season. He walked three hitters and gave up four earned runs during his inning of a 5-2 loss to Woodward, Oklahoma, on June 16. Jarosh’s next outing was equally as rough, if not more. He faced just two batters, walking one and giving up a hit to the other, and was pulled after just 10 pitches during the fifth inning of a 14-9 win over the Parker (Colorado) Lightning.
“I couldn’t figure out my arm slot,” Jarosh said. “I was changing it up quite a bit and couldn’t get it consistent. When we went to Omaha, Ben Bohlmann and I took some time to work on that. I used his knowledge to come back better the next time.
“I had a great outing, and (Bohlmann) deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Jarosh got a start against Millard West in the CWS Bluejay Classic, and bounced back by fanning four hitters while walking one and scattering three hits across 7-2/3 innings. He gave up two runs, neither of them earned.
It was the kind of outing Lain expects from someone with Jarosh’s build and ability.
“He’s 6-4 or close to 6-5, but his wingspan is even longer,” the Post 6 skipper said. “His fingers are huge, and he’s able to get his hand all the way around the baseball. He also has really good levers. If they get in sequence, they can create a lot of velocity.
“He can be really whippy. He’s been working his butt off to be that.”
Jarosh has pitched 21 innings this summer, striking out 19 hitters and posting a 1.33 ERA.
The fact Jarosh is on the mound this summer might surprise those who know he has signed a letter of intent to play football for the University of Jamestown starting this fall. Many – including Lain – expected Jarosh to spend the summer preparing for the college gridiron, especially since the Sixers’ season could extend well into the middle of August’s fall camp.
Baseball actually played a big role in Jarosh’s college football decision. He knew Cheyenne was returning the bulk of last summer’s 69-win team that had its regional championship aspirations dashed with a 1-0 loss to Helena, Montana. Post 6 has its sights firmly set on a spot in the American Legion World Series, and Jarosh wants to be a part of that run.
“This team has the opportunity to do something special and something that’s never been done before,” he said. “I knew that playing college football was going to make doing this really tough. I had five offers, and Jamestown was the only one to say it was OK with my playing baseball this summer.
“I’m probably going to be late reporting there, but my coaches are OK with that. They don’t want to take away my senior year and our opportunity to chase a national championship. That’s a big reason I signed with Jamestown.”
