Young’s walk-off homer delivers 2A title to Red Devils
Clinton senior catcher Luke Young (7) celebrates his walk-off home run as he rounds third with Red Devils head coach Peyton Spangler Friday. Young’s homer lifted Clinton to the Class 2A state title with a 5-4 win over Atlantic Collegiate.
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Luke Young graduated from Clinton High School Friday morning and then hit a walk-off home run to deliver the Red Devils the Class 2A baseball state championship before the end of the day.
Young’s eighth-inning bomb to left field handed Clinton a 5-4 victory over Atlantic Collegiate Academy and completed the sweep in the best-of-three series for the Red Devils (31-3), who navigated the entirety of the playoffs without a loss.
“I was going to be on time with a (fast ball) and adjusted my speed, and he sent me a slider – and I put my best swing on it,” said Young, who went 1-for-2 and drove in two of Clinton’s runs.
Logan Newcomb, Atlantic’s third pitcher of the game, took the loss. He induced an inning-ending double play to force the extra inning after the Armada (29-5) tied the game at 4-4 with three runs in the sixth.
Young’s homer made Clinton reliever Isaac Cain the game winner. Cain entered in relief of starter Tanner Finley, who walked the first two batters in the sixth before exiting.
Atlantic loaded the bases against Cain with a single and then pushed runs across on Jackson Meyers’ RBI ground out, scoring A.J. Kipybida, and on Gavin Street’s two-run single to center field that tied the game.
Street went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs, and Eli Chowning went 3-for-4 and scored two runs for the Armada.
But the Red Devils regained their composure, holding firm in a scoreless seventh to set up Young’s heroics in the eighth.
“To beat good teams, you obviously have got to be good in every area – you can’t have weak links,” said Clinton head coach Peyton Spangler, who was an assistant on the Red Devils 2023 Class 3A state championship team. “We walked a few guys and they scored, and we hadn’t really done that all year, but we just hung in there. We always believe we can win the game, no matter what, so that was just another example of a Clinton type of win where we just grind it out and do whatever we’ve got to do.”
Finley gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three in five innings on the mound. He also stayed in the game following a scary moment in the fifth inning.
Atlantic’s Cam Craft hit a line drive back up the middle, striking Finley near the temple. The ball caromed off of Finley, and Jaydon Glenn made a diving infield catch for the second out of the inning. Finley retired the next batter to end the frame.
The Red Devils took a 4-1 lead in the fifth when Camden Finley, who went 1-for-1 with a double, two walks (one intentional) and two runs scored, led off the inning with a walk, stole second and then took third on a throwing error by the catcher. He scored on a second throwing error, sliding under the tag at home.
Atlantic pitchers held the Red Devils to just four hits, but walked six, hit a batter and committed the two fifth-inning errors.
Graydon Watkins went 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Jaydon Glenn was 1-for-4 for the Red Devils.
Clinton celebrates its Class 2A state championship victory over visiting Atlantic Collegiate Friday.
Camden Finley also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as the Red Devils jumped out to an early 3-1 lead. Finley led off the game with a double and scored on Young’s sacrifice fly.
In the home second, Will Addison led off with a walk and later scored from third on a passed ball, and Watkins scored on Camden Finley’s sacrifice fly to deep center field.
Young’s game-winning home run was also his 14th homer of the season. He set the program’s single-season home run record with 13 during the regular season.
But No. 14 will go down in Clinton athletics lore.
“I almost told him not to get too big and just try to get a base hit up the middle, but I kept my mouth shut,” Spangler smiled. “I kept my mouth shut, and it’s a good thing that I did. When I saw their left fielder get to the fence, I said, ‘Oh my God, we just did it.'”
