Cape baseball handles Tech, blanks Caravel
Cape baseball players took two big Ws in their gloves last week with a 7-1 victory over Sussex Tech at Cape’s Chris Short Field April 17, and an 11-0 mercy rule victory April 19 over Caravel Academy at Glasgow.
Sussex Tech got on the board in the first inning April 17 with a sac fly by Braydon Hazzard to score Rosnell Lewis.
That’s the only run that the Ravens would get, as Vikings pitcher Jaxon Clampitt shut them down the rest of the way, throwing a complete game (84 pitches) and allowing just one more hit.
Vikings Jase Mitchell and Malachi Woods each went 2-for-3 with a double, and Mitchell picked up an RBI. Trey Hitchcock, Jaxon Clampitt, Liam Mitchell and Brad Marks each knocked in a run. Emmett Wheatley slammed a double.
Clampitt picked up the win (3-0), striking out six Ravens.
The Vikings scored in all but the fourth inning while garnering 11 hits in the game.
“The guys were excited for Tech, as always,” said Cape head coach Ben Evick. “They had a lot of energy going into the game. Tech scored in the first, and we immediately responded with a pair of runs. Jaxon was really doing a nice job throwing competitive strikes and mixing his pitches. He also had a great day at the plate with a pair of hits, a walk and two runs scored. On the mound, his day was just as great, throwing a complete game. As a team, we collected some key hits to drive runs in in some big situations.”
“We did really well defensively and offensively,” said senior pitcher Clampitt. “In the field, our defense made lots of big plays and backed me up really well. Offensively, we did very good getting base hits and not trying to do too much at the plate. Almost every inning our leadoff hitter got on base, which helped our offense a lot.”
Rosnell Lewis had the two hits and one run scored for Sussex Tech.
The Vikings made the trip north April 19 to face the 7-1 Bucs and handed them their second loss, banking 11 runs on 11 hits. Senior Jacob Smith threw a one-hitter on the mound, striking out nine Bucs in the mercy rule shortened game. Smith had a no-hitter until two outs in the sixth.
Emmett Wheatley led the Cape offense, going 3-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Brady Kosc was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and he garnered two walks. Malachi Woods went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Brad Marks had two hits and an RBI. Trey Hitchcock delivered with two RBIs. Jase Mitchell walked four times, had two stolen bases and scored three runs. Aaden Johnson knocked in a run.
“My approach today was to try to get ahead in the count, then catch them off guard later,” said Smith. “I was mainly first pitch fastball and was able to use my off-speed pitches late into counts for strikeouts. The guys behind me were great. I know they’re going to produce and take some pressure off my back every game. Two runs in the first inning gave me all the confidence I needed.”
“We tried to work most of the top of the lineup backward, knowing they could give us trouble, and the second or third time through, [we] switched the look up, starting with more fastballs to keep guys guessing,” said catcher Mitchell. “I think we’ve been playing really good, clean baseball our last couple of games. We’ve made very few mistakes in the field and on the bases, and our lineup has been swinging it top to bottom.”
“Today we were ready from the start – focused and ready to go to work,” said Evick. ”Putting up five runs in the first two innings set the tone for the game, and Jacob [Smith] dominated the whole game. He just quieted their lineup from the start. Jase [Mitchell] had four walks on the game and continues to be selective at the plate. This allowed him to use his speed on the bases, scoring three runs. We had a good approach today and did a nice job not helping their pitchers by chasing bad pitches. We were able to make things happen on the bases and put pressure on their defense, which led to scoring runs in bunches.”
Cape moves to 9-0 on the season and will face Laurel Thursday, April 24, at Laurel High.
