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WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 JULY 15, 2021
Sports
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK
After a stellar junior season as a second baseman at Bryant University, Peabody’s Jake Gustin has continued his strong play into the summer with the North Shore
Navigators.
Gustin grabbing every opportunity with Navigators
By Mike Alongi
LYNN — One of the keys to
being successful in any sport is
to take advantage of every opportunity
you get to perform.
For Peabody’s Jake Gustin,
every day is a chance to get
better, and he’s proving that
this summer with the North
Shore Navigators.
“I think the biggest thing for
me is that I have an opportunity
to play every day here, and
I just want to make the most
of it and continue to work on
getting better,” said Gustin,
who just wrapped up his junior
season at Bryant University.
“I’m just trying to stay focused
and help the team in whatever
way I can.”
The numbers have been
there for Gustin this summer,
as the second baseman is hitting
.279 with a home run and
10 RBI through 18 games. His
slugging percentage of .353 is
fourth on the team, while his
OPS (on-base percentage plus
slugging percentage) of .728 is
fifth on the team.
“I love playing here,” said
Gustin. “Obviously I’m a
Peabody guy, so being able to
stay at home and have friends
and family all come out to the
ballpark are all great bonuses
for me. All the guys I play with
have been great and it’s been
fun going to the park every
day.”
Gustin is no stranger to
summer baseball, having
played nine games for the Navs
in 2018 after his senior year at
Peabody High and then playing
20 games for the Newport
Gulls in 2019 following his
freshman season at Bryant.
“The real importance of
summer baseball is playing
every day and going up against
great competition,” said
Gustin. “That kind of stuff
can only make you better, and
having the opportunity to play
against guys from all over the
country and meeting all new
people has been really fun.”
Gustin’s strong play isn’t
something that came out of the
blue, as the former Tanners star
hit a stellar .386 during his junior
year at Bryant this spring.
After starting all 42 games at
second base for the Bulldogs,
Gustin notched 13 doubles,
six home runs and 36 RBI to
go along with 46 runs scored.
He had 21 multi-hit games,
posted an on-base percentage
of .463 and his strong play
helped push Bryant its ninth
straight Northeast Conference
title and a berth in the NEC
Tournament championship
game. He was named NEC
Player of the Week multiple
times during the season, and
his play earned him all-conference
honors in the NEC and
an American Baseball Coaches
Association (ABCA)/Rawlings
All-Northeast Region First
Team selection.
“I think we were all really
fired up coming into this
season after missing out on
pretty much all of last year,”
said Gustin, whose Bulldogs
only played 15 games in 2020
before the season was canceled
due to the pandemic. “It was a
little weird at first coming out
of fall when we had split practices,
but I just tried to find a
groove and work hard every
day.”
But the focus now is on the
task at hand, and that is finishing
this season with the
Navs strong and making a
strong push as the playoffs
draw closer.
“We’ve got a tough schedule
coming up and I think we close
the season with 11 games in
10 days, so we’ll need to be
on our game coming down
the stretch,” said Gustin. “I
think the main key for us is
to just stay focused on the
task at hand; we’ve got the
talent on this team to make a
run, so we’ve just got to keep
working.”
After the season, Gustin will
turn his attention to his senior
year at Bryant, where he hopes
to continue his great play and
help the Bulldogs to another
league title.
“I’m really looking forward
to coming back senior year and
hopefully having another great
season,” said Gustin. “We’re
losing a lot of pitching from
last year’s team, but we’ve got
a lot of talent still and we’re
looking forward to hopefully
winning the conference again
and making an appearance in
the tournament.”