DEFIANCE, Ohio — The Defiance baseball team is still undefeated and they’re the number one team in Ohio in Division-II. A big reason they're having so much success, their new ace on the mound David Jimenez.
The Bulldogs are a legitimate state powerhouse. They've won three state titles in the last ten years. This year, they're hoping to add another to that list.
David Jimenez is the latest in a long line of starting pitchers to star in a Defiance uniform.
“We kept saying, 'Hey you’d be pretty good, you’d be pretty good,'” said head coach Tom Held. “He’s been a travel ball guy who’s always played middle infield, some outfield, and with Jayden Jerger out he had an opportunity, got moved up a little quicker than expected and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity.”
“I mean I didn’t really expect to do anything like this coming into the season,” said Jimenez. “I just wanted to do my job and get the work done. Having the defense behind me helps a ton. I wouldn’t be nearly as successful without them.”
The numbers that Jimenez has put up in his first four starts this year will rival anything that Chad Billingsley or Jon Niese did at Defiance.
So far this year, he has thrown 21 innings and hasn't allowed a run. He actually threw back-to-back no-hitters as well. Opponents are hitting .043 against him. The numbers are absolutely silly.
“It’s so fun to dominate out there,” said Jimenez. “To have the energy behind me and the guys with me on my side, it’s a feeling like no other. It’s insane to have a coaching staff and a group of players with me like this.”
“The bottom line is, in high school is just be a strike thrower, and that’s what he is,” said Held. “He gets all three pitches across for strikes. He can start a guy off with a breaking ball, he can start him off with a change-up. He gets ahead of hitters and really just lets his defense feed out that.”
David Jimenez from Defiance High School is our Athlete of the Week.