Dedication knows no boundary, especially for Lake Erie’s Jordan Kurakowa.
A native of Honolulu, Kurakowa has introduced his own brand of baseball onto the Frontier League as one of the league’s top pitchers this season. Enjoying a 2.87 ERA in 59.2 innings, Kurakowa has been the ace the struggling Crushers have needed.
Playing college ball at Hawaii at Hilo, Kurakowa made a name for himself as a Vulcan where he posted some impressive numbers and got the attention of some MLB scouts.
Realizing his dream during the 2016 MLB draft, Kurakowa was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 28th round. But, Kurakowa’s dream was short-lived as the Phillies cut ties with the right hander after just 13 appearances in rookie ball.
Keeping his head up from the setback, Kurakowa kept all lines of communications open and waited for his shot to keep his career alive.
“I was just hanging out in Hawaii and actually got over to the Pacific Association in California and I was with them for one day of spring training and then I got the call that they traded me over here,” Kurakowa said. “It was actually a really good break for me.”
Traveling almost 4,500 miles in just a few days, Kurakowa found out on a Thursday and made the trip into Avon for a start the following Tuesday.
“Baseball is crazy. It takes you all over the world and I’m just really happy to be traveling and experiencing new experiences, especially out here in the Midwest,” Kurakowa said. “I had no idea whatsoever out here in the Midwest and so far I’ve really enjoyed it and it’s really nice and I’ve got no complaints whatsoever.”
Approaching the Frontier League the same way he did as in rookie ball, Kurakowa has already gotten the attention of teams around the league as true ace who does his homework and sticks to a routine.
“I’ve been just doing the same thing routine-wise as the Phillies had me doing. I’ve remembered everything they had me do in rookie ball, so I’m just applying that here and just taking it one step at a time, one pitch at a time,” Kurakowa said. “You can’t really think about my next start, who I’m facing next week, you have to be day by day. It’s taking every experience and coming to the field and putting in the work and when it’s your time to go on the mound, you do your thing.”
Kurakowa has been focusing on what he can control in Avon in order to get back into affiliated ball, even if it means getting out of his comfort zone a bit.
“I hadn’t started since college because with the Phillies I was a reliever. So just getting my stride with being a starter again is just a great feeling,” Kurakowa said. “Everyone’s goal is to eventually get back into affiliated, but I’m not pressing too hard to because when you press for things like that, you end up having a jumble in your head and you’ve got stress coming down on you. so I’m just trying to take it day by day and pitch by pitch. I’m not going to worry about taking it one pitch at a time and making it the best pitch I can.”
Getting a night off with Steve Hagen taking the bump, Hagen did his best impression of an ace as he went seven strong innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight as the Crushers claimed a 3-0 win over River City.
Battling against one of the toughest lineups in the league, Hagen tossed a gem and got the run support he needed, thanks in large part to a big opposite field home run by Austin O’Brien that gave Lake Erie the 3-0 edge in the sixth.
“I stayed out of the middle of the zone for the most part, at least two times and both those two times they got hit,” Hagen said. “They got pretty good hitters on that team, but again working ahead early in the count makes it a lot easier for late in the count.”
