James Clemens baseball hot at the right time
MADISON – The James Clemens Jets opened area play on Thursday at home with a bang against Florence.
The Falcons went down in five run-ruled innings 11-1 as JC did whatever it wanted with the bats.
On the mound, James Clemens starting pitcher Satchel Wheeler was masterful tossing a complete game while allowing one run with one hit and two walks with four strikeouts.
With the Jets offense red hot, Wheeler held serve with strong defense behind him.
On a cool, windy day at The Jet’s Plex the JC defenders had to fight the elements somewhat to make plays.
“Really it kind of affected me a lot,” James Clemens center fielder David Sharp said.
“That first ball that was hit, it just kind of hit a wall. But we adjusted to it, and I have a good left fielder and right fielder out there with me that I can trust so it made it easy.”
Sharp showed off his defensive range as he sliced through middle of the outfield to make crucial plays in this area clash.
The Jets centerfielder would account for four defensive outs in this 5-inning game.
Another guy who shined out there was right fielder Hayden Markfort who sprinted deep into foul territory to make a challenging catch right at the fence to end the top of the second inning.
“He’s a dog,” Wheeler said of Markfort.
“That dude gives 100 percent effort all the time and I love it. It’s awesome having him out there in right field.”
James Clemens wasted no time with a barrage of runs in the bottom of the first inning to go up 5-0.
The Jets would add another run in the bottom of the second inning to lead 6-0.
Florence would only manage one run against Wheeler in the top of the third inning to make it 6-1.
Sharp led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a triple that would eventually be driven in by Markfort’s sacrifice fly with one out for a 7-1 James Clemens advantage.
JC hung four more runs on the Falcons in the bottom of the fifth to walk off with ease.
James Clemens travels to Florence Friday for a double-header with those same Falcons.
