Sophomore J.C. Clayton makes a speedy adjustment to lead the
Balers
A year ago, she was only a freshman, but that didn’t prevent
J.C. Clayton from making the San Benito High School varsity
softball team.
In fact, Clayton, who batted from the right side, posted a .368
batting average and was arguably the Baler’s biggest threat in the
lineup to pick up extra-base hits and smack the homerun ball.
Sophomore J.C. Clayton makes a speedy adjustment to lead the Balers
A year ago, she was only a freshman, but that didn’t prevent J.C. Clayton from making the San Benito High School varsity softball team.
In fact, Clayton, who batted from the right side, posted a .368 batting average and was arguably the Baler’s biggest threat in the lineup to pick up extra-base hits and smack the homerun ball.
That’s why it was so hard for head coach Scott Smith to move her into the leadoff spot in the lineup and bat her from the left side this season. Smith also knew that the power she gave up as a left-handed batter would be more than compensated for by her explosive speed down the first-base line.
Smith was right.
This season, Clayton is batting a whopping .568 from the left side, even though she has less power.
“They are probably fielding a third of her hits, but no one can throw her out,” Smith said. “If they can’t throw her out in under 2.5 seconds, she is safe. Even though she had a lot of doubles and extra base hits a year ago, she always steals second anyway so we really haven’t lost anything.”
By batting her left-handed and having her one step closer to first base the sophomore standout has created a nightmare scenario for opposing coaches looking for a way to get her out. And the Baler’s ability to get the leadoff batter on board has helped the team to manufacture runs early on and paved a way for the team’s fast 13-2 start.
“She’s just slapping the ball around and beating out the throw,” said Smith, who has a standard rule to determine whether or not a player hits from the left or right side.
“If they can reach first in less than three seconds, I make them a lefty,” Smith said. “The only way I don’t is when they have great power.”
The beauty of having Clayton in the lineup is that her power is beginning to develop as a left-hander as well, which means that Smith wouldn’t be surprised to see her start hitting some deep balls too. He also knows that if the situation warrants having her bat her natural way could happen, especially come playoff time.
“If we are in a two-out situation with someone on first, I would probably bat her right handed,” said Smith, who not only is a student of the game but skippered the Balers to their first Central Coast Section title a season ago. “We purposely bat her from both sides of the plate at practices just for that purpose.”
Despite the preparations, Clayton has only had a couple of at bats from the right side in game situations this season, but she still leads the team in hits, multi-hit games – even triples (2) and homeruns (1).
Another change this season for Clayton, who was named to the Tri County Athletic League’ s All-League Second Team list a year ago, is in the field. A year ago, she played third base for the Balers and this year she has been playing second.
“She hasn’t made a single error yet this year,” Smith said. “She is ideally a shortstop and that’s the position she plays on the club teams but she’s great at second, too.”
The Balers starting shortstop is junior Elena Fata. The two players have been solid at preventing hits up the gut of the infield. Clayton’s speed has also played a huge factor in the team’s defensive capabilities.
“I can move her more towards first and she’ll still get a lot of balls,” Smith said. “And both her and Elena go back so well (to get pop flies out of the infield) that I’m able to play the outfielders deeper. J.C. turns the double play well, too – she gets the ball out of her glove real quickly.”
John Bagley can be reached at [email protected].
