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WARWICK — Wednesday was a feeling unlike anything Patrick Clemmey has experienced to this point in his time at Bishop Hendricken.
It was finally the senior left-hander’s turn to make his varsity debut on the pitcher’s mound. More than three years of anticipation led up to this opening of the Division I season against Coventry.
Four strong innings and nine strikeouts later, Clemmey was satisfied. His offense offered plenty of support in an 11-1 triumph at breezy Pepin Field, a game shortened to six frames by the 10-run mercy rule.
“I woke up this morning and I was like, ‘Wow, it’s game day. It’s here,’ ” Clemmey said. “Really anxious all day in school. I just wanted to get out here and compete.”
A year on the freshman team spent primarily as a first baseman and two more lost to Tommy John surgery prevented the Vanderbilt commit from taking his place in the rotation. Clemmey did so under chilly sunshine against the Oakers and fanned the side in the top of the first, flashing the arsenal that has him headed to a national power next fall. He mixed firm fastball, slider and changeup out of a 6-foot-5-inch frame that should give most opposing hitters a fair share of trouble.
“He’s definitely got the blood flowing and the adrenaline pumping,” Bishop Hendricken catcher Jack DePalma said. “Just trying to keep him down and in the zone.”
Clemmey started to break out as a pitcher in summer 2022 and made an early verbal pledge that August to the Commodores. Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin is a New Hampshire native who has made a point of recruiting a New England region that tends to be an afterthought for some staffs. Clemmey was prepared to make an impact with the Hawks as a sophomore when he felt discomfort in his left elbow in April 2023.
“I had to get an MRI,” Clemmey said. “And then I realized.”
Clemmey suffered a full tear of his UCL, and the following 16 months of recovery prevented him from helping a group full of future college players post a perfect record against Interscholastic League foes in 2024. He was back on the mound with North East Baseball in July and took part in the East Coast Pro Showcase to end the summer. Clemmey started to ramp up again in January and was ready to go when pitchers and catchers started practice with Bishop Hendricken in March.
“His stuff is jumping out of his hand,” DePalma said. “His breaking ball is missing barrels. His changeup is dropping out of the zone. He’s just fooling guys with all three pitches.”
Clemmey held Coventry (1-2) hitless through 3⅔ innings before Spencer Knutton dropped a liner into right field for a clean RBI single. The Hawks (1-0) had already built a 7-0 cushion thanks to three runs in the first and four more in the third. Braeden Campbell’s run-scoring single to left sparked the early damage and DePalma helped his battery mate with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored.
“We lost a lot of great players,” DePalma said. “But we’ve got the guys who can pick up the slack. We’ll be just fine.”
Clemmey’s father, Ian, watched from beyond the home dugout on the third-base side. His cell phone buzzed with Bishop Hendricken at the plate in the bottom of the first, and a familiar face was on the other end of a video call. Alex Clemmey was walking through his home clubhouse in Delaware, Ian’s older son and Patrick’s older brother preparing for an evening Class A game with the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
“He just said, 'Go out there and do what you can do,' " Clemmey said. “ 'Trust your stuff; go out and dominate.' ”
They’re different pitchers in both build, raw stuff and experience. The younger Clemmey carries a touch more muscle at a younger age, more readily maintains command of the strike zone and is the new ace of a staff hoping to match last year’s run to a first title since 2019. The future could still bring the scouting buzz that made his older brother the state Gatorade Player of the Year, the No. 58 overall selection by the Cleveland Guardians in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft and a coveted prospect in a 2024 trade to the Washington Nationals.
“I just love getting on the mound, competing and giving it my all,” Clemmey said. “That’s what I want to do. I want to continue to play baseball and be the best person I can be.”
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: After 3-year hiatus, Clemmey gets back on the mound. How did it go?
Continue reading...
It was finally the senior left-hander’s turn to make his varsity debut on the pitcher’s mound. More than three years of anticipation led up to this opening of the Division I season against Coventry.
Four strong innings and nine strikeouts later, Clemmey was satisfied. His offense offered plenty of support in an 11-1 triumph at breezy Pepin Field, a game shortened to six frames by the 10-run mercy rule.
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“I woke up this morning and I was like, ‘Wow, it’s game day. It’s here,’ ” Clemmey said. “Really anxious all day in school. I just wanted to get out here and compete.”
A year on the freshman team spent primarily as a first baseman and two more lost to Tommy John surgery prevented the Vanderbilt commit from taking his place in the rotation. Clemmey did so under chilly sunshine against the Oakers and fanned the side in the top of the first, flashing the arsenal that has him headed to a national power next fall. He mixed firm fastball, slider and changeup out of a 6-foot-5-inch frame that should give most opposing hitters a fair share of trouble.
“He’s definitely got the blood flowing and the adrenaline pumping,” Bishop Hendricken catcher Jack DePalma said. “Just trying to keep him down and in the zone.”
Clemmey started to break out as a pitcher in summer 2022 and made an early verbal pledge that August to the Commodores. Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin is a New Hampshire native who has made a point of recruiting a New England region that tends to be an afterthought for some staffs. Clemmey was prepared to make an impact with the Hawks as a sophomore when he felt discomfort in his left elbow in April 2023.
“I had to get an MRI,” Clemmey said. “And then I realized.”
Clemmey suffered a full tear of his UCL, and the following 16 months of recovery prevented him from helping a group full of future college players post a perfect record against Interscholastic League foes in 2024. He was back on the mound with North East Baseball in July and took part in the East Coast Pro Showcase to end the summer. Clemmey started to ramp up again in January and was ready to go when pitchers and catchers started practice with Bishop Hendricken in March.
“His stuff is jumping out of his hand,” DePalma said. “His breaking ball is missing barrels. His changeup is dropping out of the zone. He’s just fooling guys with all three pitches.”
Clemmey held Coventry (1-2) hitless through 3⅔ innings before Spencer Knutton dropped a liner into right field for a clean RBI single. The Hawks (1-0) had already built a 7-0 cushion thanks to three runs in the first and four more in the third. Braeden Campbell’s run-scoring single to left sparked the early damage and DePalma helped his battery mate with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored.
“We lost a lot of great players,” DePalma said. “But we’ve got the guys who can pick up the slack. We’ll be just fine.”
Clemmey’s father, Ian, watched from beyond the home dugout on the third-base side. His cell phone buzzed with Bishop Hendricken at the plate in the bottom of the first, and a familiar face was on the other end of a video call. Alex Clemmey was walking through his home clubhouse in Delaware, Ian’s older son and Patrick’s older brother preparing for an evening Class A game with the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
“He just said, 'Go out there and do what you can do,' " Clemmey said. “ 'Trust your stuff; go out and dominate.' ”
They’re different pitchers in both build, raw stuff and experience. The younger Clemmey carries a touch more muscle at a younger age, more readily maintains command of the strike zone and is the new ace of a staff hoping to match last year’s run to a first title since 2019. The future could still bring the scouting buzz that made his older brother the state Gatorade Player of the Year, the No. 58 overall selection by the Cleveland Guardians in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft and a coveted prospect in a 2024 trade to the Washington Nationals.
“I just love getting on the mound, competing and giving it my all,” Clemmey said. “That’s what I want to do. I want to continue to play baseball and be the best person I can be.”
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: After 3-year hiatus, Clemmey gets back on the mound. How did it go?
Continue reading...
