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Waite's baseball team didn't have much to cheer about this spring.
The Indians, who batted just .241 as a team, won four games this season but junior catcher/pitcher Dylan Clifton-Lorton said he and his teammates never gave up.
“I love my teammates,” he said. “We stayed together regardless, win or lose. We stick together, win or lose. I do not like losing. Baseball's only fun when you win. I liked seeing my teammates every day and working with them to get better.”
Clifton-Lorton was one bright spot for second-year coach David Quiroga's Indians. He led the team with a .416 batting average (.333 City League) and had a team-high 33 hits, eight doubles and 20 runs.
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| Dylan Clifton-Lorton |
He was 13-for-17 in stolen bases and walked nine times with just eight strikeouts, and he threw out 18 base runners from behind the plate.
“I wish I could have done a little better to get some more wins for my team,” Clifton-Lorton said. “I felt I did OK. I was hitting .460 midway through the season and I slumped a little bit. I wish I could have gotten up to .500 or .550. I want to hit above .500 my senior year.”
Quiroga, a three-time first-team All-CL catcher during his playing days at Waite (2000-03), was an assistant under head coach Danny Clayton when Clifton-Lorton was a freshman. Quiroga, who also played at Owens Community College and Ashland University, soon began tutoring Clifton-Lorton.
“Dylan wants to learn,” Quiroga said. “He asked what to do. I just put him through the catching drills I've done – quick hand drills, blocking drills. He's dedicated and he wants to get better. It was easy with him. He's as good as everyone says he is. He's got a great arm behind the dish. He loves to throw the ball and he throws it well.”
Clifton-Lorton's offensive numbers and defensive abilities were enough to earn him a spot on this year's All-CL first team.
“He hits well,” Quiroga said. “Hitting .333 in the City League isn't anything to be ashamed of. Defensively, he's talked about. I always have coaches compliment his defense. Hitting-wise, we didn't have a great offensive team this year and he was pitched tougher than anyone on the team. He was in the three-hole most of the year and he didn't get many good pitches to hit. Coaches didn't want him to beat them at the plate, either.”
Clifton-Lorton (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) has been playing baseball since T-ball. As a 12-year-old, he said his coaches were looking for an “aggressive kid” to put behind the plate. He was soon moved from pitcher/shortstop to catcher.
“They put me behind the dish to see what I could do,” Clifton-Lorton said. “I loved it. I loved getting bruises and throwing people out. You never fall asleep when you're a catcher. You have to be awake every single pitch.”
Clifton-Lorton has had his share of bruises, but he knows that comes with the territory. Last season, in the opening game against Toledo Christian, he got bowled over at the plate on a bang-bang play.
“After a pitch, I threw it back to the pitcher (Catarino Hernandez) and the Toledo Christian kid tried to delay steal from third,” Clifton-Lorton recalled. “He was a quick guy and he just charged the plate. I yelled to our pitcher – 'Cat!' - and he threw me the ball. I catch it and I look over and I have a kid plowing me. I fell on the ground and I held onto the ball. He was out.”
Clifton-Lorton, 16, said he takes a lot of pride in throwing out base runners.
“I just have the mentality that I want to get everybody out,” he said. “I want to be the pitcher and the catcher.”
His specialty is picking off runners at second base who get caught leaning toward third.
“You catch them sleeping,” he said. “It's happened a lot. I had four of them in one game against Toledo Christian. Rob Garcia, one of my best friends, was the shortstop. He was down at second base after every pitch and he would lay it down and we would get them every time.”
As a pitcher, Clifton-Lorton earned half of Waite's four victories this season, beating Lima Senior and Cardinal Stritch. Tony Smith, a freshman, did the catching when Clifton-Lorton was on the mound.
“Tony has plenty of potential,” said Clifton-Lorton, who is playing for the Ohio Hurricanes this summer. “He's got to get more of an urge to (catch), but he'll be pretty good.”
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