The winning pitcher for Bay City Western in the Division 1 state title baseball game was an unlikely hero in many respects. But sophomore Jason Clark got the job done with a 6-2 complete-game victory.
Clark got the call against Grosse Pointe South, and in nine innings allowed two runs on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts. He was perfect through the first four innings.
He allowed two runs in the bottom of the fifth with his team leading 6-0. But Clark was able to bear down and keep the Blue Devils at bay.
“I’ve been doing that all year. If I have a bad inning, I stay focused so I don’t screw up my momentum,” he said, adding that he felt more confident as the game went on, and it was easier to pitch when he had the lead. “I started to speed up my momentum, stay focused on the game and not try to get side tracked.”
It was a performance Clark won’t forget for a long time. “I was excited as I could be,” he said. “I was happy I had my team behind me again like always. They’ve been behind me the whole year. They’re always going to be behind me.”
All his pitches were working in the title game. “The only thing that was off was my changeup,” he said. “My fastball was right on key. I was trying to hit the corners.”
“It was hard to get a read on him the last couple of days,” said coach Tim McDonald. “He’s a pretty quiet kid anyway. All we told him [Friday night] is you can’t play the game, but you can start preparing for it and get yourself mentally ready. I think the seniors and some of the veterans were pretty good about keeping him calm and getting a lot of positive energy.”
Ironically, Clark was not on the 2013 state championship team for Western.
“I was in Pony League, and we went to the Pony League World Series last year, so I didn’t go up with [the varsity],” Clark said.
Only two returning starters were back for the Warriors.
“It’s not just a one-time thing,” Clark said. “We’re a great baseball school.”
Going back-to-back for boys’ titles was a personal thrill for Clark. Winning a state title alongside the Bay City Western softball team was also fun.
“It’s awesome both teams can win and show that Western is a great school,” Clark said. “That’s what we wanted to do. It’s overall amazing. We had to win. Now we can be enjoying it together.”