TJ's Jackson, Summers receive Area Code invitations

By CASEY OLSON

The Mirror

Jarrett Jackson and Jason Summers will get to showcase their baseball talent on one of the biggest stages for high school players. The seniors-to-be at Thomas Jefferson were notified last week they were selected to play on the 2005 Northwest Area Code Team.

The 28-member team includes players from Washington, Idaho and Oregon and was picked by Seattle Mariner area scout Phil Geisler. The Mariners sponsor the Northwest team, which will play five games together at the Area Code Games Aug. 6-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif. The Area Code Games, which started in 1987, will feature the top 250 players from the United States, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Canada and Australia.

“It’s pretty amazing to be on one of the elite teams in the Northwest,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be a good experience to get your name out there.”

Jackson, who actually lives with Summers and his parents, Lori and Jon, was the top newcomer in the South Puget Sound League South in the spring. After playing his freshman and sophomore seasons at Kennedy High School, Jackson finished 2005 with a .404 average with six home runs and 26 RBIs for Jefferson. Summers ended his 2005 SPSL South season at TJ with a .417 average, four home runs, 15 runs and 18 RBIs.

The Northwest Area Code Team includes 22 players from Washington, three from Oregon, two from Idaho and one from California. The only other South Puget Sound League players are Spanaway Lake left-handed pitcher Jason Salers and Kentwood infielder Cody Bartlett.

Both Jackson and Summers are still unsure about where they are going to play in college. According to Summers, both have already been offered scholarships from the University of Washington and Washington State and received interest from schools like the University of Alabama and Minnesota.

“We are going to wait until after the Area Codes,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of colleges there. We would like to play in college together if it works out. But right now Jarrett is liking WSU a little better and I’m kind of liking UW. So we’ll see.”

Around 300 scouts from every Major League team and all the major college programs are scheduled to be in Long Beach for the Area Code Games.

Jackson and Summers are currently in the midst of their summer season with the 18-and-under Federal Way Buzz, which includes several players from TJ, Beamer, Decatur, Federal Way and other schools around South King County. The Buzz is scheduled to be at a tournament in San Diego Aug. 3-13.

Both Jackson and Summers left Wednesday morning for Euclid, Ohio, to play in the 18-and-under Continental Amateur Baseball Association World Series with a team from New York. The tournament runs through Friday.

“We were asked to play by a scout from New York from out here,” Jackson said. “It will be against some of the top teams from around the country. It’s been a pretty good summer.”

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com

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