Clinton commands baseball respect

Think this Clinton Central baseball team isn't for real? Think again.

That 5-3 win at New Hartford on Thursday may have been lost in Friday morning's fine print as just another score, but as far as Clinton head coach Brian Scoones and his Warriors were concerned, this was another big step in the right direction for a Class B program forced to face the Class A likes of Tri Valley League rivals Whitesboro, New Hartford, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, Oneida and Camden on a regular, home-and-away basis.

"It's as big as you can get, considering it was New Hartford," Scoones said of the upset win over the Spartans, who had entered Thursday's game a perfect 11-0 and ranked No. 3 in New York State's Class A poll. "Now, I think our guys believe we can beat anybody."

And rightly so. Clinton's Warriors, whose pitchers had allowed only four hits in a 5-2 loss to two-time defending TVL East champion Whitesboro in their previous outing, got some more great pitching from starter Justin Corney and reliever Cory Gogola, a game-winning two-run double by Tyler Heck in the top of the seventh inning, and a potential game-saving catch from center fielder Jordan Hobaica in the bottom of the seventh and knocked offNew Hartford for the second straight season.

Corney has three quality starters and three no-decisions, and he leads Clinton with a .500 batting average. Lee Foxton is batting .472 with 24 RBIs, Chris Hughes (.485) and Heck (.440) are batting over .400, and Hobaica
(.385) isn't far behind. The Warriors are 3-3 in the TVL, 6-4 overall, and pitchers Zach Griffiths and Trevor Ford each have two wins.

Clinton didn't field a junior varsity team last year, but the Warriors made some noise in the Section III Class B-2 playoffs. They beat Ilion in the opening round, then lost to top-seeded Hannibal 4-3.

Don't be surprised if they are heard from again in this year's Section III tournament.

Keeping track of field events the problem

Ever been to a track and field meet?

Go to New Hartford High School for Friday’s 55th annual New Hartford Invitational and look for Clinton’s Tom Wagner or Oneida’s Pat McLaughlin or Rome Free Academy’s Shawn Carter or Holland Patent’s Dan Fruscella. They’re among the best high school athletes in the area, most definitely worth watching.

Good luck finding them, though. If you’re not family or friend, you probably won’t know who’s who, and you won’t know who’s done what or where they stand until it’s over. That’s a shame.

On the track, the running events take center stage. In the field, the jumpers and the throwers and the pole vaulters toil in relative obscurity. That’s the problem.

Fan-friendly it isn’t. Uniform numbers and a program listing each participant, event-by-event, would help, but only a little. It’s too bad the jumpers and the throwers and the pole vaulters couldn’t have “invitationals” of their own, giving them a chance to compete, front and center, up close and personal with a crowd that otherwise can’t be sure what’s going on.

Only then will the casual fan really be able to appreciate just how talented, how competitive these athletes are. Only then will those athletes get the attention they so richly deserve.