By BARRY SANKEY
bsankey@phoenixvillenews.com
PHOENIXVILLE — Baseball has always been Jesse Daywalt’s sport. He was also a pesky force as a defensive specialist and point guard for Phoenixville during two runs to the Pioneer Athletic Conference boys basketball tites in 2005 and 2007.
But baseball has still remained No. 1 in his book. And now the Phantoms’ senior infielder has decided to continue his academic and athletic careers at Division II Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia as a baseball player.
The left-handed hitter has also been a defensive asset for the Phantoms as a shortstop, second baseman and third baseman. He has played a steady diet of baseball the last few years as a memeber of the Phoenixville Area High School squad as well as the Phoenixville Athletics in the Chester County League for Senior American Legion action during the summer months.
Daywalt made his announcement official Monday during a briefing at the PAHS television studio. He was accompanied by Phoenixville head coach Jack Sturgeon, athletic director Ray Jenkins and his mother, Mrs. Jennifer Daywalt.
A three-year starter, Daywalt batted .300 for the Phantoms. He is a team leader as a tri-captain this spring and earned second team All-PAC-10 honors for the 2007 campaign. At Chestnut Hill, Daywalt will be playing for coach Bob Spratt.
“A couple months ago I made my decision,” Daywalt said. “It is a new program with a lot of young players. I have the opportunity to play four years. I really liked the head coach when I met him.”
The 2008 season is the first for Chestnut Hill and Spratt, who previously coached the Penn State University-Berks Campus program. Daywalt also looked at McDaniel College and Mansfield University before deciding on Chestnut Hill. He will probably major in political science after receiving a partial scholarship.
“I will play anywhere they want me to play,” Daywalt said. “They contacted me first before I contacted them. I wanted to be close to home. That was a big factor in my decision to be as close as possible.”
Daywalt said he played basketball for coach Bill Detweiler’s Phantoms in order to stay in the best physical shape possible for baseball. Sturgeon has coached the Phantoms for 10 years at the varsity level. He is glad to see one of his players placed at the next level.
“It is good for Jesse,” Sturgeon said. “He found the right fit in Chestnut Hill. It is a new program for him to get in there and play right away. He found a place where he can play right away.
“As he gets time, he will progress. He has the work ethic. It shows in how he plays the games. It is nice to see him rewarded. He is being rewarded for all the hard work he put in for the last three or four years.”
Daywalt has played mostly shortstop since last summer, but Sturgeon thinks he could line up in the outfield as well as the infield if needed because of his speed. He has been a contact hitter and solid baserunner at the top of the Phoenixville lineup.
“His versatility will help him in his quest to get playing time,” Sturgeon said. “His freshman year he will have to show how well he can play defensively. Offensively, he will have no problem adjusting to that.”
Due to his vast experience elevating through the Phoenixville program, Daywalt possesses a keen knowledge of the game. Those smarts and knowledge of the game will benefit him in college.
“He knows all aspects of the game,” Sturgeon said. “He will play the game the right way. That will take him a long way down at Chestnut Hill.”