Norwin’s Walker ahead of schedule, key to Knights’ chances

By: William Whalen
Friday, April 26, 2019 | 6:50 PM

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Norwin baseball standout Jayden Walker readily admits he was nervous stepping up to the plate last season as a freshman starter, but the 6-foot-3, 220-pound slugger sure didn’t look it.

Nowadays, the Knights’ clean-up hitter steps into the box, taps his cleats with his bat and stares at the pitcher, daring him to throw a fastball.

“I try to see if he changes his hand a little bit,” Walker said. “I try to see (the ball) out of his hand and read the spin. The curveball will spin and have a circle rotation of the laces. If there’s a change-up, the rotation on the ball seems a little slower.”

That’s next-level stuff for a sophomore.

Walker leads Norwin (8-4, 2-3) with .378 batting average and ranks second with 10 RBIs. He also has four doubles and a triple.

“First of all, he’s physically mature already,” said Norwin coach Mike Liebdzinski, who is in his 16th season coaching the Knights. “He’s a big kid. He has a good approach at the plate and is a more advanced hitter than his grade.”

Norwin’s coaches knew about Walker since he was in middle school. Liebdzinski said Walker’s potential was obvious.

“We knew early on, when he was in probably in sixth or seventh grade, that he was going to be a player for us,” Liebdzinski said. “We didn’t know that he was going to be starting as a freshman, but he was ready and we put him there last year.”

Walker didn’t disappoint or cave to the pressure. He just went out there as a freshman and became one of the best hitters on the team. Coming off a tense freshman season, Walker might have been a little too relaxed to start the 2019 season and started off slow.

“Maybe (he slumped) right at the beginning of the year but he is back where he needs to be,” Liebdzinski said. “He’s starting to show a little more power, and he’s right back where he should be.”

Walker went 2 for 3, including an RBI and a run, when Norwin picked up a statement win April 24, 10-3 against Class 5A No. 1-ranked West Allegheny.

The win was the shot in the arm the Knights needed to start the second half of the season.

“I feel in the beginning of the season we were working on our chemistry,” said Walker, who moved from the outfield to first base. “I feel like (the win over West Allegheny) helped, and, down the stretch, we’re going to improve.”

The Knights will need Walker to continue improving if they want to make the postseason.

Almost three years removed from winning the WPIAL Class AAAA title, Norwin is tied for fourth place in the Section 2-6A standings with the team theybeat to win the 2016 championship: Plum. The top four teams in each section make the postseason.

Not only do the Knights need Walker to improve at the plate, but they need him in the clubhouse. Walker has taken on the role as one of the team leaders.

“Being a freshman, I feel like last year I was still a little nervous playing against 18-year-old kids,” Walker said. “I feel like I try to show to my teammates that I’m a leader. I want to keep that role and keep adding onto it.”

With his size and potential, Division I schools have started checking in already. Pitt, Duke, Maryland, Virginia and Penn State have all inquired.

“He’s been playing at a high level of competition since he was very young,” said Liebdzinski, a 1998 Norwin grad who went on to play baseball at Davidson. “He has a chance to be a D-I player.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

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