IN THE PALMER OF HIS HAND: Palmer, Zebras swat Vinita
Mar. 5—Cameron Palmer was just about unstoppable on the diamond Thursday afternoon.
The senior did it all in Claremore's 9-0 victory over Vinita in five innings at American Legion Park, tossing 13 strikeouts while allowing only one hit and no walks on 77 pitches with 54 strikes in all. Vinita's only hit came in the second inning on a single to right field.
Offensively, Palmer went 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI double, scoring Carson Young to give the Zebras a seven-run lead in the fifth inning.
His first two hits were singles in the second and third frames.
"It took him a couple of innings to get his groove, but he got better as we went," Claremore coach Jim Sherl said. "He threw really well for us, he was good at the plate for us and he's had some good bullpens for us early on. He settled in (Thursday night) and kind of showed he's one of our senior pitchers that's going to do well for us this year."
However, Palmer's offensive contributions were only a fraction of what Claremore accomplished at the plate.
The Zebras finished with 12 hits, including four doubles and two triples. Noah Smallwood, Ethan Grimett and Easton Phillips notched two runs off three doubles during a four at-bat stretch in the fourth, and Palmer's came in the following frame between triples from Young and Brooks Sherl.
Sherl's three-bagger drove in Scout Cutsinger and Kaden Renfroe to cap the game's scoring. He had a team-high three RBIs.
Smallwood, who is also the starting shortstop, joined Palmer in the multihit club, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate. His return was initially in question after tearing an ACL in a football game against Glenpool on Friday, Sept. 25, but his recovery went smoothly and allowed him to join baseball just before the season began.
"He's really put in a lot of work and effort trying to get back on the field," Jim Sherl said. "Slowly but surely he was getting released to do more and more, and for our first scrimmage at Bixby, he was completely released 100%. He hasn't got the practice time or the reps like the other guys got, but he's been really amped up and really excited and probably trying to do a little too much. (Thursday night) was the first night I thought he kind of settled down and relaxed and just played his game.
"He was running good, and he said his knee felt good, and he was swinging well."
Before the spree of multibase hits, Gannon Sherl registered the game-winning run with a bunt single in the first, scoring his brother Brooks.
Claremore then strung together four-consecutive singles to open the second, with Penn and Smallwood bringing in runs with their hits to make it 3-0. Brooks Sherl followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Renfroe.
The Zebras improved to 2-0 with the win, outscoring opponents 19-0. They played their third-consecutive home game Friday evening against Sallisaw and will welcome Rogers County foe Catoosa at 8 p.m. Saturday.
"I've been very impressed with our defense," Jim Sherl said. "We've played really, really good defense. Our pitching is getting better. We missed those couple of weeks of our bullpens because of the snow, so we're kind of having to make that up in games, and our kids are getting more comfortable on the mound. I've been very disappointed in our hitting, but (Thursday night) was the first night I think everybody in the lineup hit a ball hard. They may not have gotten a hit, but everyone finally hit a ball hard, and some guys hit multiple balls hard.
"If our hitting comes along and our defense continues to do well, I think we've got some good things to look forward to."
