By: Isabelle Puente
With three games remaining in the season, the Jackson Rockabillys may find themselves doing a little scoreboard watching to see if they will participate in the Prospect League’s 2026 playoffs.
“It’s been pretty great, it’s unfortunate we lost (Tuesday), seeing that we’re in a playoff run,” Joaquin Baranchuk said. “But there’s still a couple games left to make it happen and we’re just going for that.”
Baranchuk, a left-handed pitcher from Menlo Park, Calif., and graduate from Skyline College in San Bruno, Calif., with an Associates degree in Economics, has enjoyed his stay in Jackson and playing for the Rockabillys in the Prospect League.
“I love it, it’s a great time, the atmosphere is great,” Baranchuk said. “The camaraderie is great and just being out here has been a highlight.”
When asked how he felt playing for the Rockabillys has helped him grow in his career, Baranchuk said he believes it’s helped him grow more as a person rather than a player experiencing new things and a new culture while living in Jackson.
With college eligibility remaining, Baranchuk said he is looking into enrolling into a four-year university to continue his studies – with plans to continue playing baseball.
He’s also thinking of the possibilities of a return engagement in 2027 with the Rockabillys, members of a premier Midwestern wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league with 20 teams across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
Right-handed pitcher Kaden Crawford is a Fairfield, Texas native and Doane University (Crete, Nebraska) graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science.
While he won’t be playing for the Rockabillys in 2027, he said his next step in baseball will be trying out for different teams during the winter.
Crawford explained that being able to play against different competition and being able to learn from the other players on how they do things differently has helped him grow through his career.
Including a stop in Jackson.
“The fans are great and everybody working (who have) been helping us have been phenomenal,” Crawford said. “So, it’s been a great time with all the guys.”
While Crawford and Baranchuk said they’ve enjoyed their time in Jackson, there has been one exception – the heat.
At 29-22, the heat is on the Rockabillys, members of the Prairie Land Division, to piece together a few more wins if the members of the Prairie Land Division entertain the thoughts of playing in the post season.
The Rockabillys hit the road for Alton, Illinois, for a two-game series against the Alton River Dragons, today and Thursday.
They return to Rockabillys Stadium to close out the home portion of their schedule at 7 p.m., Friday, when they face the Cape (Girardeau, Mo) Catfish.
The regular season comes to a close Saturday, when the Rockabillys play the Catfish in Cape Girardeau.
(PHOTO: Joaquin Baranchuk, left, and Kaden Crawford)
