Clovers Recap June 16th - 22nd

The Clovers end the week with an overall record of 12-6. They started their week on the road against the Edenton Steamers, where the rain didn't stop them from playing. A 9:05 PM start time due to a rain delay still put the Clovers out on the diamond, where they fell to the Steamers. Jake Mathis stepped up and in the 9th inning hit a double for the Clovers, just their second hit of the game. The pitching was led by Tristan Purser, who had 5 strikeouts. While the Clover did lose, Jake Mathis showed that he is a spark plug for the Clovers offensively and defensively. After a day off, the team grabbed their gear and traveled to New Bern to take on the South Paws. The Clovers found their stride in the game with 13 hits and were walked 11 times. Brady Nathison found the ball well in his at-bats and sent one out of the park for his first home run of the season. Lane Mclean, Zach Long, Graham Wike, and Zack Chavis had 2 hits each. Braxton Davis went 4 innings, striking out 5, and the Clovers won the game 11 - 6. With back-to-back road games, the Clove-show looked to defend the Lou against the visiting Tarboro River Bandits. What seemed to be an offensive battle turned quickly into the River Bandits stealing a win on the road. The Clovers came out hot, leading 9-6 entering the 5th inning. With a big lead, the Bandits scored 13 more runs in the 5th and 6th. While the bandits took the lead, a rainstorm came in and washed away the rest of the game. Overall, the Clovers lost 9-19 but had 12 hits and only struck out 3 times. Graham Wike was the focal point of the offense with two doubles and 3 RBIs. Colbie Howell and Ethan Plesser combined for 8 of the 10 strikeouts.  The bandits look to be the Clovers' rivals this season, where they our the only team in the division to have a winning record against them this season at 2-2, with the next game played against them being the determining factor in the regular season series. After losing to the River Bandits at home, the Clovers were looking to defend their home ground against the Steamers, who beat them earlier in the week. Offense came easily for the Clovers with a 9-4 win over the Steamers. Connor Witherington continues to see the ball well and hit another home run to push his total to 3 on the season, which ties him for first with Lane Mclean and Zack Chavis on the team.  Pitching-wise wise Matt Hall continues his terrific summer, striking out 5 and only giving up 1 run in 5 innings of work. On the season, Hall has an ERA of 1.125 with 17 strikeouts and only giving up 2 runs. In the same game, Brandon Humphreys came in and closed it out for the Clovers to get another win. Humphreys threw 4 innings of work with 3 strikeouts. On the season, he has been the go-to out of the pen, with 18 innings under his belt before the all-star break and a record of 3-0; he's also struck out 12 batters. Humphreys and Hall have the two most dominant arms for the Clovers this season. Winning has been quite usual for the Clovers, but the Bandits were next on the schedule. The Bandits hosted the Clovers on Saturday, June 21st. Where the Clove Show came out hot with a 4-run lead entering the bottom of the 3rd. Tarboro answered quickly with 5 runs scored and took the lead. The Clovers found one more run at the top of the 5th, but it wasn't enough to stop the offensive power of the Bandits. Garrett Moffett was able to find his first home run of the season and added 3 RBIs to his total on the season. Aiden Caroll closed out the game with 4 strikeouts in 2 innings, but the Clovers couldn't find an answer to the Bandits and lost in a close game, 5-6. That loss pushes their record against the Bandits on the season to 2-3. After a loss to the Bandits, the end of the week was here. The Clovers look to end their 6-game week with a win against the visiting River City Skipers. This game turned into a pitching duel between the teams. Daniel Morgan started the game and was very efficient. He went for 5 innings of work and tallied 6 strikeouts as well. The offense was slow to start with one run in the second inning off of an error, and neither team could find a way to get around the bases until the 7th inning. The Skippers answered and took the lead to 3-1 entering the bottom of the 7th. Brady Nathison tied the game with a single, but the Skippers weren't done yet. A back-and-forth clash of hits took this to a 4-4 game in the bottom of the 9th. Holden Cooper was up to bat with bases loaded, 2 outs. The cardiac Clovers were looking for Cooper to put the ball in play, but the first pitch thrown was out of the zone for ball 1. The next two couldn't find the zone either, it looked like the Clovers could win on a walk and score Naithson from third, the next pitch was thrown and was passed the catcher, Naithson comes in to home for the win! Clovers win 5-4 against the Skippers to end their week.  Connor Witherington was a big part of the win with 3 hits and an RBI. While the season is only 18 games away, the Clovers open their week with a doubleheader against the Outer Banks Flying Dutchmen on the road this Wednesday.