Clinton hurls gem as West blanks Cats

--- Philip Carlson/The Capital-Journal

By ANDREW SNYDER

The Capital-Journal

Topeka West coach Bret Cowdin learned you can go home again. It just helps to bring along a strong senior pitcher.

Chris Clinton pitched a one-hit shutout Tuesday, giving Cowdin a 7- 0 victory in his first meeting against Hayden, the team he coached for six years.

"It was really weird," Cowdin said. "They're great kids over there. I really love the kids on both sides in this game. I hope this team can emulate some of the success we had at Hayden."

If Tuesday's first-game performance was any indication, West (3- 6) might be coming around. Clinton earned his second victory with six strikeouts, backed up by solid defense, and pitched to only one batter over the minimum in the first six innings.

"I had been averaging nine strikeouts a game," said Clinton (2- 3). "My defense helped me out big time and I kept my pitches down."

The Chargers got a large helping of confidence in the first inning when four of the first five batters tallied base hits en route to a 4- 0 lead. Mike Williams and Brian Sachs hit back-to-back singles and Chad Nigh moved them over with a sacrifice bunt. B.J. Snell then drove in the pair with a double to left field, and Clinton followed with another RBI double. Josh Watson added a two-out RBI single.

That was enough for Clinton. The Wildcats (5-4) went down from there with a steady stream of groundouts and pop outs fielded cleanly by the Chargers' infield. Hayden left fielder Matt Escobar singled to left to lead off the third for the only hit.

"They didn't give us a chance," Hayden coach John Muehlberger said. "We had to hit it where they weren't tonight."

Hayden starter Matt Flax also went the distance, and except for the first-inning letdown, his outing was a success. Flax (2-1) struck out four and walked none, but errors in the fourth and seventh innings allowed three more runs to score.

"The infield was tight and didn't give them anything," Cowdin said of Nigh, Sachs, Chris Shepard and Josh Cowdin. "We haven't been able to do that back-to-back so far this year."

That consistency left the Chargers in the second game of the doubleheader. Hayden took advantage of two errors in the first inning to take an eight-run lead. The Wildcats' top three hitters --- Jerrod Head, Michael Everett and Tyler Parrish --- combined for eight hits after going 0-for-9 in the opener.

That effort put the Cats ahead 15-6 when darkness suspended play after the fifth. The teams will try to finish the game later in the season.

Topeka West (3-6) 400 100 2 --- 7 11 0Hayden (5-4) 000 000 0 --- 1 3 0 Clinton and Janosik; Flax and Parrish. W --- Clinton (3-6). L --- Flax (2- 1). TW--- 2B: Snell, Clinton, Cowdin.

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