By Chris Villani

Sports Writer

Jack Krauss admitted to feeling a bit overmatched at times at the beginning of his first summer with the Milford Legion baseball team, but the Mendon resident and Blackstone Valley Tech rising senior had come into his own by the end of the season.

“The season went very well, I did better than I thought I would,” Krauss said. “This is the best competition I have ever played against, and I was just looking for inspiration at the next level and observing and learning as much as I could.”

Krauss did more than that. He played in about three quarters of Post 59’s games and Milford manager Steve DiVitto said he could have started at catcher for pretty much any other team in the zone. Krauss also saved his most productive hitting stretch for the end of the year. He had a pair of extra base hits and drove in five runs over Milford’s final three games of the regular season.

“I feel like the first few games, it was tough and a bit of a struggle for me mentally,” he said. “But I hung in there physically and I adapted to it and started to get better as a player.”

Krauss caught every third game for Milford and also spent time in the outfield as a designated hitter and as a pitcher.

“He is just an athlete, he can play anywhere on the field,” DiVitto said. “He is one of those guys who could carve out a role for himself next year.”

Krauss is unsure whether he will go into the workforce or head to college after graduating next spring, but he did not rule out playing college baseball if the right opportunity came along. He said he plans to work on getting stronger throughout the offseason and continue to hone his craft behind the plate.

“I love catching, I love the toughness of it and the grit,” Krauss said. “You’re the QB of the baseball field, everything is in front of you and you have to be very aware. The ball comes your way every time a pitch is thrown, so you have many opportunities to change the game.”

Krauss acknowledged his skill at one of baseball’s toughest positions, but said there is still room to improve at the spot he hopes to play for a long time.

He said, “I want to keep catching, until I can’t catch anymore.”