Girand Delivering for Gators After Long Road to Opportunity

Catcher Jonah Girand has taken advantage of an opportunity to play after serving primarily as the team's bullpen catcher during the regular season. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)

Girand Delivering for Gators After Long Road to Opportunity

Sunday, June 3, 2018 | Baseball, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The word "journeyman" is more associated with professional baseball than the schoolboys who toil on college ballfields.

Nonetheless, it fits Jonah Girand like a catcher's mitt.

In his first season with the Gators, Girand has done most of his work in the shadows as the team's primary bullpen catcher. Girand is used to grinding away far from the spotlight that has suddenly turned his way as a starter for the reigning national champions.

A junior who turned 23 the first week of May, Girand finished his prep career at Edgewater High in Orlando four years ago, the same summer Florida senior JJ Schwarz graduated from Palm Beach Gardens High a few hours south on the Florida Turnpike.

As Schwarz became one of the best players in school history and seeks a fourth consecutive trip to the College World Series, Girand's path to a possible trip to Omaha resembles an amusement park map.

He played his freshman season a few miles from McKethan Stadium at Santa Fe College, where he was a teammate of Gators outfielder Nick Horvath. He didn't play much, however, and spent the summer of 2015 batting .114 for the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs of the Florida Collegiate League.

At that point, Girand decided to remain home in Maitland, a community a few miles north of downtown Orlando, and take a year off from college and baseball.

"I actually got a job," Girand said. "My parents made sure of that. They told me if I was going to take a year off I had to work. I basically worked, worked out and hit, threw and caught. It was a pretty good year for me."

In between shifts at his retail job, Girand added about 15 pounds to his 6-foot-1 frame, going from 190 pounds to the 205 pounds he is listed at on UF's roster.

Ready to return to school and the field, Girand enrolled at Seminole State College in Sanford, where he played 39 games last season and hit .256 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

As he looked for a four-year school and an opportunity to continue playing, Girand contacted Florida's coaching staff after last summer's MLB amateur draft, knowing the Gators needed help at catcher with the departures of Mike Rivera and Mark Kolozsvary.

"The coaches know me from a camp I did way back in early high school,'' Girand said. "It was actually pretty late into the summer that I contacted them. They got back to me and told me just to kind of hang on and see what was going to happen. It was extremely late. They contacted me and gave me an opportunity. I've been thankful for it ever since."

Sitting behind a microphone late Saturday night after Florida's 3-2 victory over Jacksonville in the Gainesville Regional, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan sounded thankful he offered Girand that opportunity.

Girand, who appeared in only nine games prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament and made just one start, homered for the second consecutive game to help Florida stay unbeaten in the regional. The Gators (44-17) can earn a super regional berth on Sunday night if they defeat the winner of Sunday afternoon's Jacksonville-Florida Atlantic elimination game.

Girand's seventh-inning solo homer Saturday off Dolphins starter Spencer Stockton gave Florida a 3-1 lead and proved to be the winning run after Jacksonville's Cory Garrastazu homered in the bottom of the seventh. Girand hit a two-run homer in Friday's 13-5 win over Columbia.

"Jonah Girand has been a huge lift for us this weekend," O'Sullivan said. "Let's face it, you make decision like this and they make you look smart. He's worked his tail off. It's a prime example, again, you never know when your opportunity is going to come. You just try to be the best teammate you can be and put in a good day's work day in and day out. When you get an opportunity, oftentimes things like this happen."

Girand is in the lineup because Schwarz is out with a broken bone in his right hand. He was the third-string catcher in the regular season behind Schwarz and freshman Cal Greenfield.

However, in Florida's second game of the SEC Tournament, an 8-4 loss to Arkansas, O'Sullivan gave Girand his first career start for the Gators. O'Sullivan was impressed with the job Girand did behind the plate catching Jackson Kowar, who will start on Sunday.

"It goes back to seeing him catch the pens all the time,'' O'Sullivan said. "He's an older kid. He is kind of stable back there. He's a nice addition. I've seen him play since high school. He's just strong. The ball sticks in his mitt, doesn't rattle around. He's got an accurate arm."

Prior to stepping to the plate for his first at-bat in Friday's win over Columbia, Girand was 2-for-9 with a double and five strikeouts. He is 2-for-6 in the regional with two homers and three RBI.

After taking the road less traveled to his spot in the lineup, Girand is enjoying however long his time in the spotlight lasts.

"To be able to go there is awesome, but to actually go out there and contribute to the team has been just great,'' he said. "I've loved the last couple of games and just glad I could actually contribute."

Gators starter Brady Singer returned to the mound Saturday and tossed seven solid innings for the win. He struck out six and walked one.

While it was the first time Singer has pitched to Girand in a game, the batterymates had no issues.

"He catches all my bullpens,'' Singer said. "He does a great job catching. Once he took the role, it wasn't very hard."

Girand's passion for the game runs deep. He said his great-grandfather, grandfather, father and older brother all played at various levels. Coming out of high school, Girand was rated the 39th-best catching prospect in the county by PerfectGame.org.

In his only season at Santa Fe, Girand played in 19 games and hit just .186 with no home runs and five RBI.

Three years, two schools and one year off later, Girand is making the most of his opportunity.

"It's definitely been a great experience for me and a great learning experience,'' he said. "I'm really glad I could go out there and be able to do my job well. I just keep focusing on the game that I get to play and really just trying to stay in the moment."