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Selden Kolkebeck has plenty of fish stories to tell.
Only time will tell if the tale of his state baseball tournament no-hitter for Old Tappan will grow into a lunker.
The senior right-hander pitched his second career no-no (but the first to go a full seven innings) in the North 1, Group 3 sectional semifinals against Nutley. The North Jersey Male Athlete of the Week, presented by HSS, also batted an even .500 in the two games that brought the Golden Knights their first sectional title in more than a decade.
“I honestly had no clue until we won, but I found out that the last time we won a section was in 2009,” Kolkebeck said a few days after the June 5 title-game vs. Ramapo. “We actually had prom the same night. But after the game, nobody was thinking about prom, we were all just locked in on the game.”
He was one of seven different Golden Knights to score a run in their 9-4 victory over the Raiders, in which he played first base. Junior teammate David Brennan (6-1) pitched 6⅓ innings for the win that day.
“I pretty much trust all the guys on the team, and we have a really good squad,” Kolkebeck said. “Our chemistry together is something really special that I’ve never experienced before. And I had all the faith in the world that, at least that game, we were going to win.”
That feeling is palpably mutual when Kolkebeck is on the mound. The 7-1 win against Nutley on June 3 upped his record to 10-0 this spring and 17-4 over the past two.
His final pitching line read: 7 innings, 0 hits, 1 unearned run, 1 walk and 10 strikeouts. Being an avid angler – he like to fish “local ponds, local reservoirs” – Kolkebeck knows that a true “fish story” becomes embellished over the years, to a point where a five-pound bass can grow into a sea monster.
So, will future generations hear the tale about a perfect game in which the Columbia-bound fireballer struck out every batter he faced? Not as long as the pitcher who threw it remembers how that unearned run scored.
As he readily recalled: Walk, grounder to advance the runner, grounder for a fielder’s choice throw to third that went wild and allowed the runner to score.
“It happens. Errors in the field are part of the game,” Kolkebeck said. “It was my fault for walking the kid anyway. But I knew we were going to find it with the bats later in the game. So, it didn’t bother me that much.”
That trait of taking personal responsibility has helped the lifelong Harrington Park resident flourish in multiple arenas.
Kolkebeck lowered his earned-run average from 1.52 last year to 0.88 entering the June 8 Group 3 state semifinals. In the winter, he raised his bowling average from 199 to 212, and he is a nominee for North Jersey Player of the Year in both sports.
“The biggest thing in the bowling season for me was, I figured out how to pick up the 10-pin spare, and that just boosted my average 10 pins,” Kolkebeck said. “I got a spare ball, because the year before, I was just using one ball. So yeah, I definitely wanted to be a lot better. I wanted to win.”
Such is the theme of his athletic career at Old Tappan. For Kolkebeck, the best fish-story ending would be the Golden Knights reeling in their first state baseball championship since 2008.
“Growing up, I would get upset when I would lose,” he said. “I just have a very competitive side to me, and that really showed this year in baseball and in bowling, that I would do anything to win.”
Sport: Baseball
School: Old Tappan
Class: Senior Age: 18
Accomplishment: Kolkebeck helped the Golden Knights earn their first North 1, Group 3 sectional title in 17 years. The right-hander fired a no-hitter with one walk and 10 strikeouts vs. Nutley in the semifinals and batted 3-for-6 with two walks on the week, scoring a run in the final against Ramapo.
Also nominated: Seven Garcia of Hackensack for track and field.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Male Athlete of the Week: Selden Kolkebeck, Old Tappan
Continue reading...
Only time will tell if the tale of his state baseball tournament no-hitter for Old Tappan will grow into a lunker.
The senior right-hander pitched his second career no-no (but the first to go a full seven innings) in the North 1, Group 3 sectional semifinals against Nutley. The North Jersey Male Athlete of the Week, presented by HSS, also batted an even .500 in the two games that brought the Golden Knights their first sectional title in more than a decade.
“I honestly had no clue until we won, but I found out that the last time we won a section was in 2009,” Kolkebeck said a few days after the June 5 title-game vs. Ramapo. “We actually had prom the same night. But after the game, nobody was thinking about prom, we were all just locked in on the game.”
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He was one of seven different Golden Knights to score a run in their 9-4 victory over the Raiders, in which he played first base. Junior teammate David Brennan (6-1) pitched 6⅓ innings for the win that day.
“I pretty much trust all the guys on the team, and we have a really good squad,” Kolkebeck said. “Our chemistry together is something really special that I’ve never experienced before. And I had all the faith in the world that, at least that game, we were going to win.”
That feeling is palpably mutual when Kolkebeck is on the mound. The 7-1 win against Nutley on June 3 upped his record to 10-0 this spring and 17-4 over the past two.
His final pitching line read: 7 innings, 0 hits, 1 unearned run, 1 walk and 10 strikeouts. Being an avid angler – he like to fish “local ponds, local reservoirs” – Kolkebeck knows that a true “fish story” becomes embellished over the years, to a point where a five-pound bass can grow into a sea monster.
So, will future generations hear the tale about a perfect game in which the Columbia-bound fireballer struck out every batter he faced? Not as long as the pitcher who threw it remembers how that unearned run scored.
As he readily recalled: Walk, grounder to advance the runner, grounder for a fielder’s choice throw to third that went wild and allowed the runner to score.
“It happens. Errors in the field are part of the game,” Kolkebeck said. “It was my fault for walking the kid anyway. But I knew we were going to find it with the bats later in the game. So, it didn’t bother me that much.”
That trait of taking personal responsibility has helped the lifelong Harrington Park resident flourish in multiple arenas.
Kolkebeck lowered his earned-run average from 1.52 last year to 0.88 entering the June 8 Group 3 state semifinals. In the winter, he raised his bowling average from 199 to 212, and he is a nominee for North Jersey Player of the Year in both sports.
“The biggest thing in the bowling season for me was, I figured out how to pick up the 10-pin spare, and that just boosted my average 10 pins,” Kolkebeck said. “I got a spare ball, because the year before, I was just using one ball. So yeah, I definitely wanted to be a lot better. I wanted to win.”
Such is the theme of his athletic career at Old Tappan. For Kolkebeck, the best fish-story ending would be the Golden Knights reeling in their first state baseball championship since 2008.
“Growing up, I would get upset when I would lose,” he said. “I just have a very competitive side to me, and that really showed this year in baseball and in bowling, that I would do anything to win.”
Selden Kolkebeck
Sport: Baseball
School: Old Tappan
Class: Senior Age: 18
Accomplishment: Kolkebeck helped the Golden Knights earn their first North 1, Group 3 sectional title in 17 years. The right-hander fired a no-hitter with one walk and 10 strikeouts vs. Nutley in the semifinals and batted 3-for-6 with two walks on the week, scoring a run in the final against Ramapo.
Also nominated: Seven Garcia of Hackensack for track and field.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Male Athlete of the Week: Selden Kolkebeck, Old Tappan
Continue reading...
