Simon says: Clemente is city champ

Clemente celebrates after defeating Young to capture the Public League title.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)

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The way Clemente’s Chris Simon maintained his composure in tight situations at U.S. Cellular Field, with the Chicago Public League championship hanging in the balance, one would never guess the right-hander was only a sophomore.

Showing poise well beyond his years, Simon wriggled out of second-and-third jams in both the seventh and eighth innings, and he put the final stamp on Clemente’s wild 9-7 victory over two-time defending champion Whitney Young with a strikeout Tuesday.

After Clemente secured its first city championship since 2003, Simon’s intense focus shifted to a permanent smile. “This is the best feeling in the world,” said Simon, who allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings of relief to improve to 7-0 this season. “I felt like I was the one in control and they were the ones with the pressure on them. That’s the way I looked at it.”

Others may have seen it differently, particularly in the top of the seventh when Clemente (18-6) watched a big inning go down the tubes after the potential winning run was called out because head coach Chris Hall touched the runner going home. Shortly after, another runner was called out because of an illegal substitution to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Whitney Young (23-4) had runners on second and third with one out, but Simon got out of the jam.

“It was an up and down roller-coaster game, but I’ve got a group of kids who are fighters,” said Hall.

In the top of the eighth, Clemente pushed two runs across on three consecutive bunts, an error, and a sacrifice fly by Gabriel Irizarry. Young, however, had an opportunity to tie the game when it put runners on second and third thanks to two consecutive errors. But Simon closed the game by striking out the final batter.

“We just fought through it,” said second baseman Adrian Perez, who delivered a two-run single in the sixth to give Clemente a 7-6 advantage. “I’m just glad to go through this with these teammates.”

Young, which led 6-3 heading into the sixth inning, hit two home runs – a two-run shot by Frank Gowder in the second inning, and a solo shot by Adenjii Bowden in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7. Starting pitcher Jack Cinoman had a pair of triples and was on base all four times, and Steven Giannoni had two singles.