Schalick’s Luke Pokrovsky

EDITORS NOTE: This is the latest in a recurring series of in-depth interviews with athletes in Salem County. Coaches, if there is a player in your program with an interesting background or backstory the community would be interested in “Getting to Know …” forward details in an email to Riverview Sports News at al.muskewitz@gmail.com.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Along the back wall of the Schalick baseball dugout there is a row of poster boards where each Cougar player can apply award stickers similar to helmet stickers the Cougars wear in football.

Everybody player on the team has a poster and every player has at least one of the rewards on their card – except the player you’d expect would have the most. But there’s a story to that.

Luke Pokrovsky’s poster is as empty as those that don’t carry a player’s name, but that’s because he just hasn’t gotten around to putting them on. Of course, that time will come.

The junior left-handed pitcher and right-handed hitting DH/1B/OF is one of the top players in South Jersey. He’s also the last of three brothers who have donned the Schalick uniform and has a real chance to surpass all their records by the time he graduates next spring.

He’s currently the Cougars’ ace pitcher (0.89 ERA/36K/15.2IP) and one of their best hitters (.400/7 RBIs).

He sat down with Riverview Sports News to talk about growing up with two baseball-playing brothers, committing to a baseball-only existence and all things that shape a young baseball player with a big upside.

At some point he’s going to get around to putting those stickers on his poster. And when he does, he’s probably going to need a bigger poster.

RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: Well, since we’ve seen it, let’s start with this: What’s the story with the blank sticker card? I’d have thought with the year you’re having there would be stickers all over it.

LUKE POKROVSKY: One day we were practicing and it just got done raining and the field was destroyed with all the rain, so I hand-raked the whole entire field by myself – one of the drag-behind rakes – and everybody was doing stickers, so I still have to get all my stickers up there. It’ll end up getting a lot because of all the pitching ones and I have some hitting ones, too.

RSN: I’ve only been here for about a year, just about the end of the whole cycle of an athletic calendar, but I don’t think I’ve seen you in other sports here. Are you just a baseball guy or do you play other sports?

LP: I just play baseball here.

RSN: There’s always been a debate about diversifying or specializing in one particular sport. Why are you only a baseball guy and what are the advantages and benefits to being locked into one sport?

LP: I used to play basketball in middle school and I always wanted to play basketball in high school. We got to high school and I played with my brother Jarrett here. He always gets in the weight room and I wanted to get in the weight room, so in the off-season (going into his freshman year) I decided to not play basketball and get stronger, get in the weight room and try to get stronger to throw pitches faster.

I want to play other sports and I was thinking about playing basketball, but getting stronger and staying in shape, I’d rather do that. Playing basketball will keep you in shape, but you won’t have time for the weight room.

RSN: You come from a family of baseball guys – one brother’s at Penn and another’s at Seton Hall. Are there any more like you at home or others in the family who play or have played?

LP: No. My dad played (at Schalick) and my uncle played (at Schalick and Drexel).

RSN: How has your brothers’ success influenced your baseball? You could’ve played a mini-game at your house with a pitcher (Luke), catcher (Staus) and infielder (Jarrett) if you all got together at the same time.

LP: When Staus got committed to college, I was still very young, so I didn’t really understand anything, so he really wasn’t a big impact on my baseball. I played with Jarrett for my Little League and I started really enjoying it and he kept getting harder on me because I’m a lefty and he wants me to be strong as a pitcher.

I got to play freshman year with him for high school and it was fantastic. He kept being hard on me, trying to get me to be better, stronger, get in the weight room with him every single day, help me with my swing, all that.

When I got to watch Penn play I just realize how the pitchers are bigger and stronger they are compared to me. I just want to be able to play that next level and get stronger and be able to throw 90, 90-plus. I know I’m (currently) like low- to mid-80s fastball and trying to get my off-speed to go good.

RSN: Have you ever faced them in a game?

LP: I never got the chance to go against them and I really didn’t want to because they can both swing the bats good. I’d get smoked.

RSN: You’ve got a couple milestones coming up – 100 hits, 100 RBIs, 200 strikeouts (he’s currently at 73 hits, 64 RBIs, 172 strikeouts) – maybe even get them this season. Do they mean anything to you? Is one more important than the other? Will you eventually overtake your brothers’ numbers, and how sweet is that going to be? (Jarrett had 118 career hits and 139 strikeouts; Staus had 105 hits and 100 RBIs).

LP: All my brothers have most of the records here at school and I want to end up getting my name on it, so I was looking at the record for strikeouts and I realize I wasn’t that far away; it’s like 234 or 5. So then I was like I just have to try to strike them out and get all my pitches going. After I had that Gloucester game (Friday, 16 Ks in 6 2/3 innings) I was really excited because I only had 28 more strikeouts to 200 and I still have a whole ’nother year to go. That’s what my main goal is right now, 200 strikeouts.

I’ll always remember the Gloucester game because that was probably the best time I ever threw, the longest I ever went, the lowest walks and highest Ks. I don’t know what it was. It just comes.

RSN: And what about the 100-hit part?

LP: It’s kind of hard because everybody knows my name. Obviously I’m not going to get any fastballs. It’s harder and harder because I keep seeing curveballs, off-speed pitches. I’m trying to work in practice trying to get the off-speed pitches down to try to get my hits up trying to get to the 100 hits just like my brothers did.

RSN: Another thing I’ve always been curious about with pitchers is you’ve no doubt had managers come out to you on the mound either to get on your or get you going. What are some of the funniest or oddest things they’ve said to you either to break the tension or you’re your attention?

LP: Most of the time they come out, if it’s in the middle of an inning or an at bat, just to breathe and calm down and try to focus on the batter, not worry about any runners. I don’t remember any funny ones. There were definitely some, but I don’t remember any real funny ones. We joke around after, but not so much while the game is going on.

RSN: What do you do away from the field to relax and decompress. The other Luke – Pennsville’s Luke Wood – for example, likes Legos and Harry Potter. What do you do to get away from it all?

LP: I like to hang out with friends. I like to fish and hunt. During the offseason, in the fall, I love to go hunting with people from the team, just to be together with somebody else. I don’t like to do anything by myself, it’s just so boring. I got my first buck last year. I prefer duck hunting over anything. It’s so much fun.

RSN: It’s hard not to notice the tattoo running down the inside of your right forearm. It’s reads ‘Pokrovsky’ in script. What’s that all about?

LP: It was actually Jarrett’s idea. He wanted to get me, Staus, Jarrett, my dad all the same matching tattoo, so we all have it down our forearms. We just all wanted to match. It kind of hurt a little bit, but it has a good meaning.

RSN: What’s happening with you on the recruiting front? Is there a commitment? Where’s the most interest?

LP: I haven’t really gotten into looking at a school yet or really thought about it because I was thinking about going into a trade and try to do something with that, just go straight to work, so I don’t have to pay for all that schooling and stuff.

Both of my brothers keep saying that I’d just be wasting my talent, especially given I’m a left-handed pitcher, all I need to throw is like upper 80s and I’ll be good to go. I told them I’ll keep working. If the opportunity comes I want to take it, obviously. I was looking forward to summer, try to get in some more high-end showcases, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.

RSN: Lastly, are you pitching Tuesday against Pennsville and do you get any more amped pitching against a county opponent? I think you drew the start against Woodstown in the opener. In eight career appearances against Salem County teams (25.1 innings) he has a 3.03 ERA (his career mark over 103 innings is 2.98).

LP: I’m not pitching (against Pennsville). I’m pitching Wednesday against Lower Cape May. I’m one of the top pitchers on the team and (Coach Sean O’Brien) is going to give me the best teams to go against and I’m excited to go against real talent and I’ll be challenged a little bit. I like seeing our bounce back. We’ve already played some of the teams before this season and we lost and I wanted to bounce back and try to help the team out more, especially on the mound.