Cape baseball shuts out Cavs and Bucs
The Cape baseball team used the long ball and lights-out pitching to out-duel Middletown 10-0 March 29 on Chris Short Field.
The game started with great pitching from Brad Marks, who was on the mark in the strike zone. He finished his time on the mound with eight strikeouts.
“Our pitching has been tremendous so far,” said head coach Ben Evick. “Jaxon [Clampitt] was dominant in his start against Milford, and Jack Simeone came in and was just as dominant. In this game against Middletown, Brad was lights out, locating his fastball early in counts and just putting guys away. Jacob [Smith] came in to close things out in the fifth, and just mowed down three straight hitters with three strikeouts.”
The bats were hot in both games, as the Vikings outhit Middletown 7-1 and Milford 14-2.
The Middletown win was highlighted by back-to-back homers in the second inning by Jase Mitchell and Trey Hitchcock. Mitchell also added a triple and three RBIs, while Jaxon Clampitt was 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs scored.
The win over Milford showcased three triples in the second inning that saw the Vikings put up 12 runs.
Brady Kosc led the Vikings offense, going 4-for-4 with a double, triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. Hitchcock, Aaden Johnson, Emmett Wheatley and Marks each added two hits.
“I’ve seen three home runs many times but never three triples,” Evick said. “We finished with four on the game, another thing I’ve never seen.”
Clampitt collected six strikeouts in three innings of work, earning the win for Cape.
”We’re really happy with our performance so far,” Evick said. “We’ve got a lot to work on to continue to improve, but the first two games, we did a lot of things right. We have been swinging the bats tremendously well all pre-season and now in the first two games. The guys have had a really good approach in the box. We have some guys with legit power potential, and they have shown that early in the season. We need to keep working hard and having competitive practices so we don’t get complacent. The guys are hungry to get better.”
Reid Schafer and Alex Ortiz had hits for Milford, while Spencer Russell had the lone hit for Middletown.
The Vikings travel to Caesar Rodney Tuesday, April 1, to face the Riders.
Dan has worked for the Cape Gazette for more than 30 years as a photographer and reporter, covering high school sports and happenings around eastern Sussex County. He won a photography award from the National Newspaper Association, and numerous awards from the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association. A Delaware native, Dan graduated from Cape in 1972 and returned as a teacher and coach in the 1980s. He retired from the classroom in 2016. He was inducted into Cape High’s Legends Stadium in 2016. In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, grandchildren and dogs.
