Mount Carmel’s Christian Clark has a keen sense of what every pitcher is thinking, especially since the senior catcher spends every game connecting and interacting with his own staff.
Does that help? Does it ever.
“Their pitcher started me off with a bunch of curveballs and I finally got the pitch that I liked,” Clark said of his effort at the plate. “I’m just going to sit tight on his fastball and I smoked it.”
Clark started to smolder Wednesday with a three-run double in the first inning.
He finished 2-for-4 with a walk and four RBIs to spark the host Caravan to a 15-14 victory over Sandburg in a Do It Steve’s Way Tournament pool-play game in Chicago.
Senior infielder TJ McQuillan went 4-for-4 with a pair of three-run homers for Mount Carmel (19-9).
Senior outfielder Giovanni Longo went 4-for-4 with two runs, two doubles and six RBIs for Sandburg (15-7). Senior shortstop Drew Drzonek and junior infielder Caleb Sullivan also homered.
In a game that featured six pitchers, 31 hits and 49 total bases, Clark came through as well with the defensive play of the game in the top of the seventh with a spectacular diving catch of a bunt.
“That was a game-saving play,” Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry said. “It was instinctive and he just pounced on it. That’s like an ESPN highlight reel. He’s the ultimate team player.
“His attitude is, whatever it takes the team to win, he does it on a daily basis.”
Junior reliever Owen Morgan, who picked up the pitching win, pointed to that play as exemplifying Clark’s value. Sandburg had runners on first and second with nobody out.
“The way Christian laid out on that play saved me,” Morgan said. “It went from being a strike to an out. He’s just a gritty guy. He’s here every day early getting his work in.
“When I pull up, I already see him hitting, so I know he’s been here for a while.”
Clark’s most consequential plate appearance actually featured no contact. The Triton recruit coaxed a walk with the bases loaded to spark a six-run fifth that reversed a 13-9 deficit.
“The pitcher didn’t throw me anything that I liked,” Clark said. “It was a lot of off-speed stuff — the one was really tough. The next stuff was fastballs farther and farther away.
“I just said I have to pass it off to the next guy who’s hot.”
A three-year varsity starter, Clark toggles between playing catcher or designated hitter. Interestingly enough, his rise as a baseball player meant making the ultimate personal sacrifice.
He gave up his first love — basketball — to focus exclusively on baseball. The toughest part was telling his father, Lewis, his biggest champion.
“My dad was heartbroken when I told him I didn’t want to play basketball any more,” Clark said. “It was really hard to do. You hear about two-sport athletes all the time. I was that person once.
“I still use my basketball skills like getting up quick or helping the team to win.”
His father and his mother, Ashley, also provided an early background in youth baseball or T-ball.
“My dad put me in a Park Forest league when I was about 4 and it took off,” Clark said. “During the pandemic, I had nothing to do in the house and I was playing basketball.
“I just thought I’m pretty good at baseball.”
As an only child, he has a special rapport with his parents. Now, the son also rises.
“My dad was a very competitive guy and he never took it easy on me playing basketball in the frontyard,” he said. “That got me kind of mad and made me always want to beat him.
“Once I got a little older, I started winning and he can’t beat me now.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
