Hendricken's Alex Clemmey increases pitch count in 5 scoreless innings vs. South Kingstown
WARWICK — The scouts had already come and gone by the time Bishop Hendricken right-hander Matt Jarmie took the mound.
Radar guns and notebooks had been put away, final phone calls to front offices had been made and the next professional prospect awaited an in-person evaluation the following afternoon. But there was still plenty of baseball to be played — Monday certainly featured more drama at Pepin Field.
Alex Clemmey didn’t factor into the decision after five scoreless innings. It was Jarmie who wriggled out of a jam and secured a 2-0 victory over South Kingstown.
“It was definitely a close game,” Jarmie said. “South Kingstown, they battled very well. They kind of rallied there for a second.”
Jarmie is committed to UMass-Dartmouth for the 2023-24 season and is a typical Division III recruit. He still has some room to add velocity and features a slider that has the makings of an out pitch throughout his college career. He went to it almost exclusively to get out of trouble in the top of the sixth, stranding the bases loaded with one of his four strikeouts.
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“He’s a great baseball player — better kid,” Clemmey said. “Having him be there for me and finish the game out for us is huge. I have a ton of appreciation for him being able to come in that situation and get the job done for us.”
Clemmey has steadily elevated his pitch count through four outings this season — he cracked 80 against the Rebels while cruising through the early part of the game. Jarmie has followed him in all but one of those starts, and he’s been forced to mentally prepare for stints of varying lengths. Monday called for six outs against an opponent that was bidding for a fifth win in its last six Division I games.
“I’ll go to the bullpen, do a little bit of throwing — not too much,” Jarmie said. “I just basically lock in from there and let Alex do his thing.”
Jarmie hit some bumps after retiring the first two men he faced. Conor Kelly and Brandon Westerfield knocked back-to-back singles, Nolan Urian worked a walk and South Kingstown (4-4) was 90 feet from taking the lead. Jarmie leaned on the slider to strike out Ryan Fuscaldo and fired a 1-2-3 seventh to close it out.
“That’s been a pitch I’ve developed for a couple of years,” Jarmie said. “It’s been my best pitch since I’ve started using it.”
Urian’s clean liner to left was just the second hit allowed by Clemmey in 17 innings this season. He hit a batter, walked two others and fanned 13. Forty of his 51 outs in 2023 have come on strikes. Clemmey punched out the side three times, including in the top of the first on a slider looking, fastball swinging and a changeup swinging.
“Just getting more comfortable with the changeup every start,” Clemmey said. “Throwing it as much as I can and getting that perception and depth to it. I’m very confident throwing any pitch right now in any count.”
The Hawks (7-1) finally squeezed out the deciding runs in the bottom of the sixth. Jack LaRose reached on a one-out walk and scored on a wild pitch to break the 0-0 deadlock. Frank Tillinghast sent an RBI single to center for what proved to be some unnecessary insurance.
“There’s no better feeling than pitching in a game where you’re neck-and-neck with the other team,” Clemmey said. “I knew that if I did my job I trusted my offense to get the job done.”
Bishop Hendricken 2, South Kingstown 0
South Kingstown 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Bishop Hendricken 000 002 x – 2 6 0
Rian O’Rourke, Nolan Urian (5) and Jordan Chaloux; Alex Clemmey, Matt Jarmie (6) and Braeden Campbell.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Hendricken pitcher Alex Clemmey shuts out South Kingstown
