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COLLINSVILLE — John Tedesco may be a freshman, but Tuesday night he displayed the mental fortitude of a seasoned veteran.
Just one day after striking out to end a 9-7 home loss to Collinsville, Tedesco delivered a masterclass on the mound despite going 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts at the plate, striking out 13 batters himself in a no-hit effort while navigating 5 walks across 6 shutout innings to lead Claremore to a 12-1 District 5A-3 road victory at Pat Oolpitt Field.
“I just flushed it [last night’s ending], and my teammates helped me bounce back,” Tedesco said, specifically noting Arizona State commit Jax Van Valkenburg’s role in helping build his confidence.
He wasn’t alone in the redemption effort.
Brayden Floyd turned in a career night, going 3-for-4 — including a double and a triple — with 5 RBIs while also closing the game on the mound. He was 1-for-4 in the Game 1 loss.
“I think the team was more high-energy, and I could feel that from our dugout,” Floyd said. “I felt more confident coming up to bat and felt like I had my team behind me. That really helped me.”
Notably, Floyd hadn’t pitched since he was 12 years old before this season, yet finished Tuesday’s game by striking out the side after a shaky start in the seventh.
Claremore coach Jonathan Gelnar said Floyd has evolved into a pitcher they can rely on in high-pressure scenarios.
“With our team, everybody’s a pitcher until we tell them you can’t,” Gelnar said. “He’s a guy who’s really developed into a leader, and every time we’ve thrown him out there, he’s done really well. He’s named himself as the best closer in our district, and that’s just kind of the mindset you’ve got to have in that role. It’s going to be a pressure situation most of the time, and he’s had fun with it.”
Floyd was one of three Zebras with 3 hits, joining Bo Wolf [3-for-4, 1 RBI] and Kellen Gaede [3-for-4, 2 RBIs], who had 2 doubles, while Luke Roberts added 2 hits. The quartet combined for 11 of Claremore’s 12 hits in a dominant offensive showing.
“Credit to the kid yesterday — he threw a really good game — but we did not stick to a game plan very well, and we were taking a lot of fastballs. In high school baseball, if you take a lot of fastballs, you’re going to be behind in a lot of counts. It was just, you gotta get your swings off today, especially if it’s over the white. You don’t want to get behind against really good pitchers — we don’t want to be 0-1 without getting a swing off.
Claremore [15-7, 9-1 District 5A-3] struck first in the opening inning when Floyd doubled to right, scoring Wolf — who reached on a single — for a 1-0 lead.
The Zebras extended the advantage in the third.
Gaede led off the inning with a double, and Floyd followed with a triple down the right-field line to bring him home. Moments later, Roberts delivered an RBI single to center, pushing the lead to 3-0.
“It feels great [getting multibag hits],” Floyd said. “It helps my confidence and makes me feel better. I think it helped set the tone for the game, and I think that’s what helped us win the game.”
From there, Tedesco took complete control.
The freshman retired hitters in bunches, including a stretch of 7-consecutive strikeouts, keeping the Cardinals off balance all night.
“Johnny was electric tonight,” Gelnar said. “He is poised and very businesslike — he’s going to make money someday.”
Claremore added to its lead in the fifth when Floyd grounded out to drive in a run, making it 4-0.
Then the game broke open in the sixth.
After loading the bases with walks and a hit batter, Wolf drew a walk to force in a run, extending the lead to 5-0. Floyd was then hit by a pitch to bring home another run, and a passed ball allowed a third run to score.
Roberts added an RBI groundout to cap a 4-run inning, giving the Zebras an 8-0 advantage.
Claremore then put the game out of reach in the seventh.
With two outs, Gaede ripped a 2-run double to left field, scoring Braden Trail and Evan Jameson. Floyd followed with a 2-run single, driving in Wolf and Gaede to extend the lead to 12-0.
Collinsville [12-7, 8-2] avoided the shutout in the bottom half when Cayden Cupps tripled and later scored on a wild pitch, but Floyd recovered after issuing a pair of walks.
“It was really cool to come out here on a district night,” Floyd said. “I’ve got good stuff. The coaches got behind me, and I have the confidence.”
Claremore was clean defensively, committing no errors, while Tyler Osgood anchored the defense with 16 chances.
The win gave the Zebras a quick bounce-back after Monday’s loss and kept them firmly in the district race.
“It was one of our lowest moments yesterday and one of our highest moments today,” Gelnar said. “That’s a good team, and it’s always fun to come beat them. It’s kind of a rivalry because we’re so close, and they play a good style of baseball and they’re always good. With Collinsville and Pryor, the guys are fired up to play because they see each other all the time and get bragging rights.”
Claremore returns to action at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Chickasha in the Tiger/Zebra Festival at Legendary Legion Field at Murray-Pixley Park before hosting Oologah at 4 p.m. Friday.
Continue reading...
Just one day after striking out to end a 9-7 home loss to Collinsville, Tedesco delivered a masterclass on the mound despite going 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts at the plate, striking out 13 batters himself in a no-hit effort while navigating 5 walks across 6 shutout innings to lead Claremore to a 12-1 District 5A-3 road victory at Pat Oolpitt Field.
“I just flushed it [last night’s ending], and my teammates helped me bounce back,” Tedesco said, specifically noting Arizona State commit Jax Van Valkenburg’s role in helping build his confidence.
He wasn’t alone in the redemption effort.
Brayden Floyd turned in a career night, going 3-for-4 — including a double and a triple — with 5 RBIs while also closing the game on the mound. He was 1-for-4 in the Game 1 loss.
“I think the team was more high-energy, and I could feel that from our dugout,” Floyd said. “I felt more confident coming up to bat and felt like I had my team behind me. That really helped me.”
Notably, Floyd hadn’t pitched since he was 12 years old before this season, yet finished Tuesday’s game by striking out the side after a shaky start in the seventh.
Claremore coach Jonathan Gelnar said Floyd has evolved into a pitcher they can rely on in high-pressure scenarios.
“With our team, everybody’s a pitcher until we tell them you can’t,” Gelnar said. “He’s a guy who’s really developed into a leader, and every time we’ve thrown him out there, he’s done really well. He’s named himself as the best closer in our district, and that’s just kind of the mindset you’ve got to have in that role. It’s going to be a pressure situation most of the time, and he’s had fun with it.”
Floyd was one of three Zebras with 3 hits, joining Bo Wolf [3-for-4, 1 RBI] and Kellen Gaede [3-for-4, 2 RBIs], who had 2 doubles, while Luke Roberts added 2 hits. The quartet combined for 11 of Claremore’s 12 hits in a dominant offensive showing.
“Credit to the kid yesterday — he threw a really good game — but we did not stick to a game plan very well, and we were taking a lot of fastballs. In high school baseball, if you take a lot of fastballs, you’re going to be behind in a lot of counts. It was just, you gotta get your swings off today, especially if it’s over the white. You don’t want to get behind against really good pitchers — we don’t want to be 0-1 without getting a swing off.
Claremore [15-7, 9-1 District 5A-3] struck first in the opening inning when Floyd doubled to right, scoring Wolf — who reached on a single — for a 1-0 lead.
The Zebras extended the advantage in the third.
Gaede led off the inning with a double, and Floyd followed with a triple down the right-field line to bring him home. Moments later, Roberts delivered an RBI single to center, pushing the lead to 3-0.
“It feels great [getting multibag hits],” Floyd said. “It helps my confidence and makes me feel better. I think it helped set the tone for the game, and I think that’s what helped us win the game.”
From there, Tedesco took complete control.
The freshman retired hitters in bunches, including a stretch of 7-consecutive strikeouts, keeping the Cardinals off balance all night.
“Johnny was electric tonight,” Gelnar said. “He is poised and very businesslike — he’s going to make money someday.”
Claremore added to its lead in the fifth when Floyd grounded out to drive in a run, making it 4-0.
Then the game broke open in the sixth.
After loading the bases with walks and a hit batter, Wolf drew a walk to force in a run, extending the lead to 5-0. Floyd was then hit by a pitch to bring home another run, and a passed ball allowed a third run to score.
Roberts added an RBI groundout to cap a 4-run inning, giving the Zebras an 8-0 advantage.
Claremore then put the game out of reach in the seventh.
With two outs, Gaede ripped a 2-run double to left field, scoring Braden Trail and Evan Jameson. Floyd followed with a 2-run single, driving in Wolf and Gaede to extend the lead to 12-0.
Collinsville [12-7, 8-2] avoided the shutout in the bottom half when Cayden Cupps tripled and later scored on a wild pitch, but Floyd recovered after issuing a pair of walks.
“It was really cool to come out here on a district night,” Floyd said. “I’ve got good stuff. The coaches got behind me, and I have the confidence.”
Claremore was clean defensively, committing no errors, while Tyler Osgood anchored the defense with 16 chances.
The win gave the Zebras a quick bounce-back after Monday’s loss and kept them firmly in the district race.
“It was one of our lowest moments yesterday and one of our highest moments today,” Gelnar said. “That’s a good team, and it’s always fun to come beat them. It’s kind of a rivalry because we’re so close, and they play a good style of baseball and they’re always good. With Collinsville and Pryor, the guys are fired up to play because they see each other all the time and get bragging rights.”
Claremore returns to action at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Chickasha in the Tiger/Zebra Festival at Legendary Legion Field at Murray-Pixley Park before hosting Oologah at 4 p.m. Friday.
Continue reading...
