Focused Myers Park high school baseball closing in on another league championship
When the current high school baseball season began, Myers Park had a very clear goal: Repeat as South Meck 4A Conference champion and made a deep state playoff run.
Entering the Mustangs’ final game of the regular season, they are one win away from clinching the league title and when the state playoffs begin during the second week in May, Myers Park (16-6, 10-1) will be one of the favorites in Class 4A for a strong playoff finish.
“Our confidence is really high, especially since we played well tonight,” junior pitcher-first baseman Thomas Jokinen said Tuesday night after the Mustangs won 11-1 in six innings by the “mercy” rule against South Mecklenburg. “We just have to come out and play hard and play with confidence.”
Jokinen helped set the tone for his team with a dominating two-hitter with eight strikeouts and one unearned run in his six-inning complete game performance in Tuesday’s win. He struck out six of the first eight batters he faced to clearly justify his coach’s decision to give him the starting pitching assignment against co-league leader South Mecklenburg (14-9, 9-2).
Myers Park beat Berry (9-12, 2-9) 13-1 Thursday in five innings. Hank Thrasher was 2-for-2 and had his first career home run. Miles Catchpole struk outs seven in four innings.
Now, if Myers Park beats South Meck Friday, the Mustangs are outright league champs.
Mustangs ninth-year head coach Erik Foor had used Jokinen and sophomore Henry Bauer as the opening game starters of conference two-game series throughout this season. Now he’s got Bauer saved for the return engagement against the Sabres on Friday.
“It’s been back and forth,” Foor of his top two starters. “I just decided to give Henry a few days more rest because he’s had a big chunk of our workload up until this point.”
Jokinen’s start was one of his best of the season for a program that could win its 12th conference regular-season championship in school history. It would be the Mustangs’ third league title in five years.
“I was confident on the mound and I’ve been waiting on this game for a while,” Jokinen said.
His dominant start was capped by his erasing the first baserunner he allowed as Jokinen picked a runner off second base after he had drawn a two-out walk and stole second base in the top of the third inning.
“As of late, this has been how he’s been pitching,” Foor said of Jokinen. “He’s done a good job of being in the attack mode. When you’re throwing three pitches for strikes, it makes it tough on high school hitters.
“(Tuesday) he got ahead of hitters and really put them away.”
Jokinen also is one of the team’s top hitters with a .282 average and 10 RBIs. Others are catcher Jaxon West (.444 average, 14 RBIs) and second baseman Sam Bundon (.360 average); West, third baseman William Washburn and center fielder Davis Johnson had two hits apiece to lead Myers Park’s offense on Tuesday.
Even after Tuesday’s impressive victory, Jokinen knows his team can close out a title run by completing the series sweep of South Mecklenburg.
“Winning the conference was definitely our goal,” Jokinen said. “It comes down to Friday and hopefully we’ll take care of business.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
