MSUB SPORTS – Coming set in a high-leverage situation late in the game, Jake Mills prepares to throw arguably the most important pitch of the day. The tying run looms on second base, and the Montana State University Billings baseball team has entrusted him with a precious one-run advantage in the final inning.
 
The senior right hander studies the sequence of fingers thrown down by catcher Trevor Nix, an unspoken understanding between the two of the necessity to get this call right. The runner begins his curling descent into the base path as he takes a cautious lead off the bag, Mills straining his neck temporarily away from Nix's target to stop his opponent's feet.
 
Fully set now, Mills delivers to the plate, a knee-high fastball that perfectly catches the outside corner, untouchable as it paints the black and meets Nix's unmoved target. It's a pitcher's dream pitch, tempting but unhittable, and the type that suggests such control from its author that more often than not umpires are inclined to reward the pitcher with a strike call.
 
But this time, there is no such luck out of the man in blue, no raise of the fist or emphatic bellow to signal a game-ending strikeout. He has called Mills' work of art a ball, pushing the count full and the intensity of the situation to a new level.
 
Many pitchers would struggle to stifle their emotions in such a situation, throwing up their arms or verbally expressing their disbelief at what, in their eyes, was a perfectly-executed pitch. But as Mills holds his glove up for Nix's return throw, a stoic gaze covers his face, an expressionless look signaling the fact that he has already forgotten about the missed call and begun preparing to repeat the sequence from the start.
 
Mills possesses a perspective that is rare among college players, but it is one that sets him apart and gives him an angle of understanding that even the most successful baseball players usually never come to fully grasp. Mills has been in that umpire's shoes, wearing the blue and holding the balance of a game within his ability to fairly judge where a 90 mile-per-hour fast ball crossed the plate. After years of work on that side of the game, he knows that a reaction this time will only jeopardize his team's chance of holding on to win the game.
 
MONTANA TO IDAHO AND BACK AGAIN
 
Mills was born in Dillon, Mont., but quickly moved to Burley, Idaho where he grew up in the town of around 10,000 people. He emerged into a three-sport athlete by high school, starring at quarterback in football and playing basketball to keep in shape for the spring baseball season. The 6-foot-2 right hander committed himself to pitching his senior year of high school, fitting into a position that draws many parallels from quarterbacking an offense on the gridiron.
 
"You are in control of the game at both of those positions," Mills said. "At quarterback nothing can happen unless you orchestrate it, and it's the same thing on the mound. The game can't go anywhere unless you throw the pitch. Everything is controlled at your fingertips."
 
Mills credits his development as a pitcher to his high school coach Devin Kunz and also to his father Craig. It was those two that taught Mills to have an approach on the mound and transformed him from the mindset of playing catch into being a pitcher.
 
As college offers began to flow in his senior year, Mills elected to return to the state he was born in and attend Miles Community College in Miles City, Mont. It was then-Pioneer head coach Rob Bishop who initially recruited Mills. "I actually recruited Jake during my last year at Miles CC so I knew of him from his high school career," commented Bishop who is now in his fifth season at the helm of the Yellowjackets' program. "I followed him closely during his time at Miles and recruited him from there."
 
It was during Mills's first two seasons as a college player that he took his game to the next level, applying what he had learned from Kunz and his father in high school and enhancing it through another huge role model in his junior college coach, Jeff Brabant. "Jeff is the most intelligent pitching guy I have ever worked with," Mills said. "He passed on a lot of mechanical and conceptual stuff on the mound, and introduced me to a couple of new pitches. He definitely refined me as a pitcher and as a player as a whole, and turned me from a thrower into a pitcher."
 
A NATURAL FIT
 
"Jake is a student of the game. He is always looking for an edge either mentally or physically. There is never an excuse regarding his performance and he always competes. There isn't much more you can ask from a guy." – MSUB head coach Rob Bishop on senior Jake Mills.
 
Continuing his career at the junior college ranks, Mills knew it would be a matter of time before he had to transition from the two-year school if he wanted to keep playing baseball. His familiarity with MSUB's skipper made MSU Billings a natural choice, and it didn't take long for Mills to realize the difference in level of play in the NCAA Division II.
 
"This is definitely a step up from the junior college level," Mills said. "Here you are facing older guys who are more mature, and you have to step up, work harder and adapt to a quick learning curve."
 
Mills had no problem making the adjustment in his first season as a Yellowjacket, as he led the team in appearances with 20 and had the squad's lowest earned run average at a stellar 2.98. Mills recorded 26 strikeouts against just 12 walks in 42 1/3 innings, and was a second-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference selection as a relief pitcher.
 
The immediate success Mills enjoyed was not easily attained, as he adapted to a new role moving from being a starter into the bullpen. "I definitely embraced that, and there are quite a few games that are lost in the sixth-through-ninth 'bridge' innings," Mills said regarding his role as a closer. "It is nice to come in, take care of business and close the door when I need to."
 
No one appreciates Mills's ability to handle dual roles more than his head coach, as Bishop feels he has a valuable arm he can use as an experienced starter or pressure pitcher. "One of Jake's best attributes is his ability to be successful in many different roles," Bishop said. "He was great out of the 'pen all of last year for us and has given us a couple of quality starts early in the 2015 season. He is a great competitor and will do anything that helps our team succeed."
 
Mills credits Bishop with giving him every shot to be an impact player in different roles from the start, and his ability to shift his mindset from starting to relieving on any given day is perhaps his most valuable asset. "As a starter, you know 25 to 30 minutes before the game that it is time to get going," Mills said. "There's definitely a difference relieving because you don't know when you're going to throw. You could be in the dugout and the next thing you know you have to throw 10 warmup pitches and get out there."
 
As Mills has proven that he excels in tricky situations, he also credits his teammates for making the transition to a new school easy for him. The excruciating road travel the team endures with 15-hour bus rides to the West Coast helps bring the squad together according to Mills. "I wouldn't have a bad thing to say about anybody on the team," Mills said. "Everyone wants everyone else to succeed, and we all enjoy each other's company, especially on those longer trips."
 
Sometimes those trips are passed with a three-hand cribbage game rigged across the laps of Mills, Conner Holbrook and Luke Reinschmidt. Others it is watching the "longest movies known to man" and listening to music. Others they may spend talking of the goals they are striving towards this season.
 
"All of us seniors are on the same page thinking how nice it would be to end our careers with a conference championship," Mills said. "That would be something I'd enjoy thoroughly if we could go out on top."
 
BEHIND BLUE EYES
 
Last year when the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College Baseball Championships rolled around, Craig Mills was preparing himself for his game assignments. For the seasoned veteran with decades of experience calling balls and strikes, working the championship tournament was just a routine he had grown accustomed to.
 
But this time, when tournament coordinators realized they were short umpires, Craig turned his head and looked across the table he was sitting at towards his son. "Jake was sitting there and he said to me, 'Dad, I can do it!'" Craig Mills recalled. "The assignor had actually worked with Jake in the past and it ended up working out for us to do the games together. As a dad that was a great feeling."
 
Umpiring is something Jake Mills has grown up with, as his father's love for the game has transcended down to him. When Craig chose to pursue an academic scholarship rather than try to be a college baseball player, he made the decision on the condition that he would find a way to stay involved with the game that was his true passion. He began accepting assignments to umpire college games when he was 25, and when Jake was old enough he served as his father's travel companion.
 
"I would throw batting practice to him in the cages between games and he got to know a lot of my partners that I worked with," Craig said. "I managed to get him hungry to start umpiring too, and he has spent a lot of time working American Legion ball."
 
More often than not, the father-son combo worked together, developing their craft in tandem while bonding on the road. "We worked quite a bit together, between Idaho Falls and back to Dillon," Craig said. "It was really great father-son time and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
 
"My dad got me started umpiring at an early age, I think I worked my first Legion game at 16 or 17," Mills said. "It is a really cool situation to be in because he passes his knowledge of the game on to me."
 
Particularly, Mills remembers umpiring games in which some of his now-current teammates played in. In last season's NWAACC Championships, now-Yellowjacket middle infielder Corey Morris was standing at shortstop while Mills worked on the base paths. "I remember he kept asking me to take a step left or right in between pitches," Mills said with a grin. "I've umpired for other guys on the team too like Jacob Foley, Landon Peterson, Griffen Pape and Casey Merritt."
 
Perhaps the most valuable thing Mills has learned from his time spent on the other side of the lines is the perspective of the officials of the game. He has been able to apply this to his own career as a player, and it is something that has helped him become stronger mentally.
 
"It's nice because I am able to put myself in their shoes when I am on the mound," Mills said regarding umpires. "There is no umpire out there trying to mess up or make a mistake, and the last thing they want is to catch flak from a 21-year-old."
 
"I think he has learned over the years that umpires have strike zones that vary, but no matter what, you never show an umpire up or glare at him," Craig said. "If he calls a borderline pitch a ball, you put your glove up, catch the ball, and throw the next pitch. I think this has really helped Jake to temper his emotions."
 

EXTENDING THE LEGACY
 
Similar to his father, Mills recognizes that his days as a player on the diamond are limited. While this is his final season as a Yellowjacket, he is not ready to give up the connection he has to the game as his passion for baseball burns as strongly as his father's does.
 
Mills plans to attend the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, a prestigious academy where the next generation of professional baseball umpires is bred and developed. It is a dream of his to continue his father's legacy and pursue umpiring for as long as he can.
 
"For now, my career goal would be umpiring and going to the Wendelstedt School would be the ticket," Mills said. "It's something I'm definitely going to pursue after college."
 
Craig is fully supportive of his son's drive to become an umpire, and explained that if there's any time to pursue a career as demanding as being a professional ump that it must be done at a young age. "Jake is in a perfect situation to pursue this," he said. "He is going to have a great education behind him and he can always fall back on his accounting degree. My wife and I have always stressed the academic side with all of our kids, and that's what I am most proud of with Jake as he will graduate on time after transferring schools and being a college athlete."
 
With a world of potential in front of him, there is no doubt Mills will one day find his calling on the field as an umpire. For now, he'll get back to pitching out of tough situations for the Yellowjackets, and giving his team a chance to win.
 
"I definitely like throwing in uncomfortable situations, first and second and no outs in a one-run ball game," Mills said. "We call it 'trial by fire, sink or swim,' and there is not a lot of margin for error being a reliever. You have to step up, be good right away, and you can't waste pitches."
 
You also have to realize that no matter what happens when your pitch hits the catcher's target, whether the call is good, bad, or downright wrong, you have to get back up there, and throw the next pitch.