Matthew DeLeone speaks on Clinton baseball

The sun was shining bright, as a brisk but windy day fell upon Clinton. The baseball team was out working on hitting when the Independent arrived. Matthew DeLeone, the head coach, was feeding the pitching machine and giving his team tips while they were at the plate.

The Dark Horses have stampeded out ahead of the competition this season, raking in eight wins and taking two loss thus far. Everyone has been in sync this year as they hope to take the conference trophy home and make a deep run in the state playoffs. In his first year as head coach, Deleone has been working diligently with the crew and working with them to earn his stripes as their coach. When asked about he felt with their strong start we smiled wide with pride over their performance.

“I’m good. We’ve played some quality baseball thus and got a good start going into the conference. That’s all we can ask for.”

It goes without saying that they gravitated to him quickly, as they addressed him with respect but were comfortable sharing some laughs.

“I just try to let them have fun,” he said as the team began to pick up the balls in the field. In the games the Independent has covered for the Dark Horses, there hasn’t been a shortage of spirit with a mix of seriousness and joy as they play ball. They’ve stayed on point and have been riding a streak that has been a welcome change from last season. DeLeone credits the Dark Horse bullpen for their staunch performance that has made it hard for opponents to generate offense against them.

“We have done a lot of good pitching. I think ten guys have thrown so far.” They have also been able to generate runs at the plate which he credits to good hitting. “We’re hitting it well and getting lucky at times, honestly.” he said.

Though they are performing well at the moment, DeLeone wasn’t shy regarding there is still work to be done. Though Clinton is looking good now, there have been times where they have fallen stagnant. He spoke on the things they still need to work on as they enter conference play as they approach the second half of the season.

“We need to be better about hitting quality pitching. Once we get into conference play, we’re gonna see more quality arms more often. If we can learn how to hit in big situations, we’ll be alright.”

He stressed this point after their game against the Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs when they struggled to get on the bags. The game had ended with the Dark Horses on top after an electric sixth inning comeback after trailing by three. They’d win 6-3. During the course of the that game, Clinton was sent back to the dugout 13 times on strikeouts.

At the end of it all, DeLeone is confident in his team and kept it brief when asked about his outlook moving forward.

“We gotta play quality baseball, cut down on errors, pitchers gotta throw strikes and we’ll be alright.”

They would take their first loss entering conference play, falling to the West Bladen Knights in a nail biter, 4-2. The Dark Horses will be looking to bounce back after spring break and rally as they take on the Red Springs Red Devils (5-6) at home on Apr. 9.