After breaking through for 25 wins last year, Clever’s 1-4 and 4-7 starts to this season brought back memories of a 500 season from two years ago that the Jays would have liked to forget.
“It definitely got in our heads,” senior Jacob Edge said of the team's woes in March. “It reminded us what it felt like to lose.”
“It was a tough start,” fellow senior Lucas Owen said. "We’re a lot happier now.”
Clever has emerged from its early doldrums to reel off 12 wins in a row after a 10-9 win versus Sparta on Monday. Look out, the Jays are on the verge of reaching 20 wins for a second straight season.
Coach Brandon Cobb has been pleased to see players the likes of Edge and Owens step up.
“We’re playing better than the start of the season,” Cobb said. “We’re finally playing good baseball. It’s good to see. Everybody is finding their roles and embracing their roles.”
Clever’s offense has gone from a question mark to a strength. Matter of fact, the Jays are on pace offensively to be one of the program’s highest scoring teams.
Clever is averaging 9.5 runs a game, up from 7.7 last season. The 2013 Jays rank first in program history with an average of 10 runs a game.
During its 12-game win streak, the Jays put up 10 runs or more in 10 contests. They scored two runs or less in four of their first 11 games.
“In the off-season, I thought that probably was going to be one of our weaker (points) and 10 games in it probably was,” Cobb said. But now we’re swinging well. We’re attacking fastballs well. The biggest thing has been our bunting and situational hitting.”
“We started hitting, that’s been the key,” Owen said. “We’re taking good at-bats and good swings, that’s what won it for us. It was a struggle (at first). We started to get a handle on it and that’s elevated our play. Everyone has been going at it with the bat.”
Edge points out the players’ energy has created an upbeat atmosphere.
“The dugout energy is a big part of it,” Edge said. “We’re playing with more energy and hustle. We started a two-strike chant. When we started doing that, we started picking up wins. If we keep our energy up and keep hustling, we’ll be fine.”
