College of Charleston
Radford
Clarke Sets CofC Strikeout Record; @CofCBaseball Sweeps Doubleheader
3/8/2015 2:31:00 AM | Baseball
Game Two Box
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Junior Taylor Clarke struck out 18 hitters in the first of two games against Radford, breaking a 20-year-old single-game College of Charleston record and propelling the Cougars to a doubleheader sweep at Patriots Point on Saturday afternoon.
Charleston (8-3 overall) claimed 3-1 and 10-4 victories, and will look to cap the series sweep with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Clarke (3-0), a righty from Ashburn, Va., offered one of the finest outings in CofC history. In addition to fanning 18 (snapping the previous CofC record of 15 set by Brian Groves on two occasions in the 1995 season), he tossed his first career nine-inning complete game, limiting the Highlanders to one run on five hits without issuing a walk. He threw 115 pitches, 85 of which were strikes, and retired 12 straight hitters from the fourth to the eighth innings. Clarke struck out at least two batters in all but two innings, and struck out the side on three occasions.
“Knowing some of the pitchers who have thrown here, it's an honor to set a record like this,” said Clarke. “I was locating my fastball really well today, and I had all three of my pitches working from the start. I felt confident moving the fastball in and out, and really attacking hitters early in counts. I always have confidence in my defense to make plays, so I'm not afraid to put it in the strike zone. I just like to control what I can control, and today a lot of things worked out.”
In the 3-1 game one win, all 10 Cougars who recorded a plate appearance reached base successfully at least once, and a two-RBI double by Morgan Phillips snapped a scoreless pitchers' duel in the fourth, while an RBI single by CofC RBI leader Carl Wise added an insurance run the following inning.
In game two, the Cougars were given four runs on three Radford errors in the first inning, eventually earning starter Eric Bauer (2-2) the win. This time, all 10 Cougars to step to the plate notched either a hit or an RBI, and back-to-back jacks by Alex Pastorius and Wise pushed the lead to 10-4, the eventual final.
GAME ONE | Charleston: 3, Radford: 1 | Box Score
The opener began as a stoic pitchers' duel, with both Clarke and opposing starter Michael Boyle facing only one more than the minimum through three complete innings.
Clarke had already struck out seven of the first 10 hitters he faced when Radford led off the top of the fourth with a single, representing just their second base runner. Clarke mowed down the next three hitters on strikes, quickly jacking his K total to 10 and neutralizing the would-be threat.
The Cougars led off their half of the fourth with a walk, and Wise lined what appeared to be a run-scoring extra-base hit to left field, but leftfielder Shane Johnsonbaugh made a sensational grab tracking back to the wall, eventually leading to a double play. The play could have completely deflated the inning, but Nick Pappas ignited a new rally with a single down the right field line. After Blake Butler worked a full-count walk, Phillips doubled into the gap in left center, plating both runners with two outs.
The Cougars scored another run in the fifth on singles by Bradley Jones, Ryan Brown, and Wise, with Wise's getting through the left side and scoring Jones from second, marking his 11th RBI of the season.
After the leadoff single in the fourth, Clarke didn't allow another baserunner until a bunt single in the eighth, adding eight more strikeouts in between.
The Highlanders finally mustered a run in the ninth with doubles by Jimmy Brennan and Patrick Marshall, but Clarke struck out the side to seal the win and cement his name in CofC lore.
In addition to breaking the CofC single-game record for strikeouts as an individual, Clarke single handedly broke the single-game record for strikeouts as a team. The previous program record for single-game strikeouts was 17, which CofC split-staffs had twice achieved, most recently in 2010.
GAME TWO | Charleston: 10, Radford: 4 | Box Score
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead in game two by reaching their first three hitters and loading the bases in the first on a single by Brown, walk by Tommy Richter and single by Wise. The Highlanders then committed errors on back-to-back ground balls towards second base, plating a pair of runs, before Phillips and Roper provided RBI sacrifice flies for a 4-0 Cougar lead.
Radford chipped away in the third by scoring two runs on three hits by Chris Coia, Josh Gardiner, and Josh Reavis, but Bauer worked a strikeout and flyout to prevent any further damage. The Highlanders turned it into a one-run game in the fifth after Gardiner led off with a double and eventually scored on an RBI single by Marshall, cutting the score to 4-3.
The Cougars re-padded the lead in the fifth after a leadoff walk by Brown and single by Richter, giving the Cougars a pair of no-out baserunners. Radford went to its bullpen and picked up two outs in an effort to get out unscathed, but Butler pounded a single up the middle, plating both runners.
Charleston blew the game open with a two-out rally in the sixth, ignited by a double by Champ Rowland and walk to Brown. Pastorius entered the game as a pinch hitter and delivered a three-run bomb to left, followed by Wise who followed suit with a long ball to left center, pushing the score to 10-4, the eventual final.
