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A running joke between Jason Kulp and Ready High School baseball coach Herb Sharfenaker has lasted for nearly four years.

Sharfenaker was a catcher and team leader when he was a Silver Knights' player in the mid-1980s. Kulp plays the same position on the field. In terms of Kulp's role in the dugout, Sharfenaker believes the three-year starter has followed his example to the letter.

If it wasn't for Kulp's advantage in speed, the fifth-year coach said he'd have a hard time distinguishing between himself and Kulp in terms of their abilities on the diamond.

"He reminds me of me," said Sharfenaker, whose team was 3-2 after losing its CCL opener 12-7 to Hartley last Friday then splitting a doubleheader last Saturday, beating Meigs 13-8 and losing to host Jackson 11-1. "It's almost like we're the same person."

"He's teased me about that since my freshman year," said Kulp, whose team played St. Charles last Tuesday and DeSales last Wednesday. The game scheduled for last Monday against Watterson was moved to Tuesday. "I dressed for the varsity team as a freshman, and since then he's pushed me a lot to be one of the louder guys."

One thing Sharfenaker hasn't had to teach Kulp is toughness. As a sophomore, Kulp became a full-time starter and leadoff hitter and hit .329 with a team-best 13 steals. He shared the team lead in runs (31) and had a fielding percentage of .983.

He hit .341 with team-best totals of 26 runs and 21 steals and had a .972 fielding percentage as a junior.

He didn't miss a game during either his sophomore or junior baseball season but has battled adversity in football and basketball, sports in which he also has excelled.

His first major injury came Jan. 26, 2005, when he injured his left wrist in a basketball game. He played the remainder of that season and throughout the spring and summer baseball seasons before finding out the injury was more serious than originally believed.

Last August, Kulp hurt his right knee while playing middle linebacker on the first defensive play of Ready's initial football scrimmage. When he got that injury checked out, he mentioned that he still felt pain in his left wrist.

He was told that he had competed for nearly eight months with a broken bone is his left wrist.

Both injuries limited his time on the football field, but Kulp returned for his second varsity basketball season and quickly got on track. He averaged 19 points over Ready's first three games and was in the midst of a 21-point performance in which he made six 3-pointers when he broke a bone in his right wrist Dec. 13, 2005, against Fisher Catholic. He played the final two quarters of that game with the injury but was forced to miss the remainder of that season.

"I guess I've had some bad luck, but I've had a lot of support from my friends and family," Kulp said. "People have always helped me be able to get back."

In terms of his health since he returned to the baseball field in the preseason, it's been a case of so far, so good.

Kulp helped Ready beat Grandview (8-1 on March 27) and Rosecrans (12-2 on March 30).

Kulp batted third during the Silver Knights' first two games with center-fielder Nick Mace batting leadoff. Defensively, he has had the responsibility of leading a young pitching staff that features junior Seton Rowe and sophomores Guy Cullison and Rob Shane.

"I think there are advantages and disadvantages (to having a young pitching staff)," said Kulp, who plans to play for an American Legion team this summer and is leaning toward committing to play baseball at Tiffin University. "Obviously it's going to be a little tougher when you're playing DeSales and St. Charles, but it's also their first year on varsity for some of these guys so they don't have the history (of losing to them).

"I've actually taken baby steps through the whole program (offensively). I think my game has come a long way."

Ready will travel Saturday to Chillicothe to face Unioto and New Albany and Monday to Worthington Christian, Tuesday to Columbus Academy and Wednesday at St. Charles.

Last season, Ready split with St. Charles (6-4 win, 9-4 loss), swept Worthington Christian (14-8, 7-1), beat Academy (6-0) and New Albany (12-8) and lost to Unioto (7-1).

According to Sharfenaker, Kulp will start in either left field or at designated hitter when he's not catching.

Last Saturday, Kulp caught the first game of the doubleheader, and Shea Brintlinger caught the second.