Jake Goebbert set his stance in the batting cage as a fastball came whizzing out of the pitching machine.
He took one swing, then another, then another. His swing was smooth and the balls flew off his bat like rockets.
The sophomore continued until the next batter replaced him in the cage, but it seemed like he could keep hitting forever.
“The biggest thing about swinging is keeping it the same every time,” he said. “It’s a very monotonous process, but if you put in the time it’ll work out.”
Possessed with a deep love of the game, the first baseman has earned the reputation, from both his coaches and his peers, as being the most intense player on the field.
“I have never met a harder worker in my life,” catcher Chad Noble said. “He works on his swing every day, for hours on end, and obviously it pays off, as he almost never gets out.”
Powered by a tireless work ethic, Goebbert has transformed himself into one of most dangerous hitters in the Big Ten.
Yet his rise to upper echelons of Big Ten baseball was not without its early struggles.
Goebbert arrived at NU as a decorated high school outfielder out of Hampshire, Ill., but coach Paul Stevens believed his skills better suited first base.
The adjustment was difficult for Goebbert at first.
“I played on the summer team at first base,” he said. “Fielding ground balls was very different.”
Goebbert learned quickly, thanks in large part to the tutelage of then-junior first baseman Rob Campbell, who made sure the freshman grasped the basics.
“I’ve been trying to help him with coming through the ball, making good picks at first, positioning around the bag,” Campbell said. “It seems that everything I tell him he picks up in a heartbeat. He’s a tremendous athlete.”
While Goebbert experienced some defensive growing pains in his first year, he flourished offensively.
As a freshman, he hit .335, including .351 in conference, with 65 hits and 37 RBIs, while leading the Wildcats in doubles. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice and was voted Freshman Player of the Year by his teammates.
For all his success last year, Goebbert has come back an even better player this season.
The sophomore is averaging .385 and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in six categories, including slugging percentage (2nd at .746), doubles (2nd with 18), home runs (T-4th with 7) and RBIs (7th with 38).
Goebbert is also just three doubles away from breaking the Cats’ single-season record of 21, set by Kent McGuire in 1977, continuing a trend that started when he was child.
“Ever since I was young, my dad told me to hit line drives and not worry about home runs,” he said. “So I really learned to hit the gaps.”
Goebbert has also come up huge for the Cats with the game on the line. Last weekend’s clutch bases-loaded single to win the series against Iowa was huge for the team’s confidence heading into the second half of the season.
“He came up with RBIs that kept us alive all weekend,” Stevens said after Sunday’s game. “In that eighth inning, he just battled and finally hit the ball where he did.”
In addition to his growing confidence at the plate, Goebbert is becoming more assertive in the clubhouse, especially with helping the freshman get comfortable.
“Jake takes everyone on the team under his wing,” Noble said. “He’s definitely become one of our biggest leaders.”
Goebbert and the Cats will need to be at their best this weekend when they take on Ohio State (20-16, 8-7 Big Ten) in a four-game series at Rocky Miller Park.
The Buckeyes remain just a half-game above NU in the conference standings, and a series victory this weekend will go a long way toward securing a berth in the Big Ten Tournament at the end of May.
