His stuff was working. Getting his first start of the season, Connor Zegar took the mound at Malcolm on April 2 and was a dropped fly ball away from a perfect game as the Clippers cruised to a 10-0 win over Crete. The senior hurler tossed a no-hitter in the mercy rule shortened game.
“I knew the guys had my back,” Zegar said. “All I had to do was put the ball in the zone and they would do the rest.”
The Buena Vista baseball commit struck out six of the 16 batters he faced and served up seven groundouts.
“Connor had a great day,” first year Malcolm coach Zach Wehner said. “He was able to mix in a variety of pitches that were working for him.”
Zegar had plenty of help on offense as the Clippers racked up 11 hits, including Elliott Robotham’s first career home run, a solo shot that put Malcolm on the board in the second inning. The junior added an RBI-single in an eight-run fifth inning.
Jake Clarke, Mason Wisnieski and Noah Gonyea drove in two runs apiece.
“We had some boys step up and show that they are pushing for valuable playing time,” Wehner said. “Having three starters missing (on a school trip to Washington, DC), we knew we were going to have to rely on some younger guys to step in. They did a great job.”
Wisnieski raised some eyebrows with a 5-for-5 performance in the Clippers’ 17-3 win on April 1 at Twin River. The freshman had a pair of doubles and a grand slam as he drove in eight runs. He also closed the game on the mound, facing three batters and striking out one in a ten-pitch inning.
“Mason’s been working a lot on his swing in practice and it definitely showed,” Wehner said. “As a freshman, he’s not afraid to step in and do what needs to be done.”
Luke Schmidt helped the cause as the sophomore went 2-for-4 with four RBIs while Clarke earned his first win of the season, allowing five hits in six innings of work while striking out nine.
The Clippers opened the week with a March 28 trip to Ralston where the future conference foe jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings and held on to defeat Malcolm, 6-3.
Clarke provided a late spark with a three-RBI bases clearing double that cut the Rams’ lead in half. The rally ended when Clarke was thrown out stealing third on a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play.
“We got off to a rough start that day and couldn’t get anything going until late,’ Wehner said. “I was proud of the way the boys kept battling and didn’t give up.”
Malcolm (4-2) hits the road for four games this week.
The Clippers travel to Fort Calhoun (1-6) Tuesday (W 14-4) before visiting Douglas County West (1-4) Friday. Malcolm will meet St. Paul (0-4) and GACC-Scribner-Snyder-West Point-Beemer (0-3) in a triangular Saturday in West Point.
