EVERYTHING’S JUST DUCKY
Former Section V stars Ernie Clement and Adam Scott delighted to be teammates with Class AA Akron
Andrew Legare
Elmira Star-Gazette USA TODAY NETWORK
BINGHAMTON — Two of the top baseball talents to come out of the Rochester area in recent years stood just feet apart on the NYSEG Stadium infield on a steamy July night.
Left-hander Adam Scott, a former standout at Canandaigua Academy, toed the rubber for the Akron RubberDucks in an Eastern League game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Behind him manning shortstop for Double-A Akron was former Brighton star Ernie Clement.
Akron ended up a 5-0 winner thanks in part to those two former Section V foes, who are now climbing the ladder in the Cleveland Indians’ chain together. Scott allowed five hits and struck out seven in six shutout innings to extend his scoreless innings streak to 19 2 ⁄ 3 . Clement had a hit and scored the game’s first run on a grand slam from Trenton Brooks after reaching to begin the two-out rally.
Both players appreciate these recurring moments.
Adam Scott, now pitching for the Akron RubberDucks, compiled a a 6-3 record with 96 strikeouts in 59 1 ⁄ innings at Canandaigua Academy. PHOTOS BY ANDREW LEGARE/ELMIRA STAR-GAZETTE
Brighton High School graduate Ernie Clement takes a swing for the Akron RubberDucks against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on July 5 at Binghamton's NYSEG Stadium.
“When I see him out on the mound and I’m playing shortstop, it’s kind of funny and we kind of laugh to each other,” Clement said. “But at the same time he’s an incredible baseball player. I could see him playing in the major leagues for a long time.”
The focus now for both is to continue to make in impact for the RubberDucks.
Scott, 23, has a 3-0 record and a 2.22 ERA for Akron after starting his second year of minor league baseball with the Class A-Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League.
Clement, also 23, is in year three of his pro career after helping Virginia to a college national championship in 2015 as a freshman, with his walk-off single putting the Cavaliers in the College World Series. He is leading off for Akron and tops the team with a .293 batting average. His seven stolen bases are one off the team lead after he missed extended time early in the season with a lower abdominal strain. Scott’s one-word assessment of Clement as a player? “Wow.”
“The dude is legitimately one of the best middle infielders I’ve probably ever played with and seen,” Scott said. “I’m not just saying that because he’s a teammate now and whatever. In high school when we played, he just made the game look easy at that level. ... Now he makes professional baseball look easy. It’s a very rare trait that that happens. He makes plays that shouldn’t look easy, look easy.
“He’s a great ball player, but probably an even better person. He’s the clubhouse jokester. The guy’s absolutely hilarious, always keeps you on your toes, high energy. He’s always got a smile on his face.”
Akron’s overall record this season is 41-48, with a 7-13 mark in the second half of the season. Following three days off for the All-Star break this week, the RubberDucks return to action Thursday at home against Bowie.
The winning effort from Scott was the only victory for Akron in the fourgame series at Binghamton, which featured a three-hit game from Clement in the Fourth of July opener. Both Scott and Clement had friends and family who made the trip down to Binghamton.
“It’s always nice when you have some players from the same area,” Akron manager Rouglas Odor said. “Scott was telling me a couple days ago that I guess they played against each other when they were kids, so that was nice to see. He feels comfortable being around him. It’s always nice to have players who know each other from a long time ago.”
Clement and Scott were “teammates” five years ago when both were selected to the Democrat and Chronicle’s 2014 All-Greater Rochester Baseball team. Clement played four varsity seasons at Brighton, compiling a .472 career average and leading the Barons to the Section V Class A championship game as a senior, while Scott was named the Monroe County Division II Player of the Year after posting a 6-3 record with 96 strikeouts in 59 1 ⁄ 3 innings. He also batted .377 with three home runs, 24 RBI and 20 runs scored.
Although Scott recalls Clement hitting a double off him in one game, one of his senior season highlights was a nohitter against Brighton on May 3.
“We faced him in Canandaigua and I think he struck me out once or twice and I went 0-for-4 or whatever,” Clement said. “But he was just incredible. After the game all the guys on the team were like, ‘That’s the best pitcher we’ve ever faced in high school.’ In high school he was the best pitcher I ever faced. Just to see him having success now is the coolest thing ever.”
Ernie Clement finds his groove
Clement played three seasons at Virginia after earning all-state honors three times at Brighton. He was a firstteam Class A pick as a senior in 2014, the same year Scott was a second-team Class AA choice. After batting .245 during Virginia’s national championship season, Clement hit .351 in 2016 and .315 in 2017 before being selected by the Indians in the fourth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.
He said playing at Virginia was one of the most special experiences of his life and it helped prepare him for the pro game.
Clement batted .280 for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the New York-Penn League in the summer of 2017. He played 102 games in 2018, hitting a combined .289 for the Lake County Captains, Lynchburg Hillcats and Akron. That included a .346 average in 133 atbats with Lynchburg, leading him to be called up to Akron for his final 15 games of the year.
This year he has continued to impress after missing two to three weeks with the injury, which he initially tried to play through before shutting down and getting back to 100 percent. He left Binghamton riding a 10-game hitting streak.
“It’s gone well,” he said of the season. “I had to battle that injury early on and I was struggling for the first month. I couldn’t wait to get back on the field. Once I got healthy I think that really helped.
“I’ve kept it pretty simple. I’ve led off most of the year, so I’m just trying to get on base for those guys behind me to hit me in and they’ve done a great job with that.”
The 6-foot, 170-pound Clement has 10 doubles, three triples and a homer in his 229 at-bats this season.
“He will make a lot of contact,” Odor said. “I don’t know if he’s going to hit for power, but he has the ability to hit doubles and for extra bases because he will hit balls in the gap. And he’s going to steal bases. So he has the tools to become an every day player in the big leagues.”
Clement has played a bit of second base this season and played third base some during the preseason. He also has experience as an outfielder at Virginia.
“He can do a little bit of everything,” Odor said.
Odor said Clement has very good range at shortstop along with a strong arm, adding where he plays as he gets closer to the majors could be determined by the needs of the Indians. Clement is the type of guy you want on your team no matter where he’s playing.
“High-energy kid,” Odor said. “Every day he’s going to have the same attitude. Full of energy, plays the game with a lot of intensity.”
Adam Scott climbs quickly
Scott also took the college route out of high school, playing at the Division I level for Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. His 26 wins in three seasons at Wofford ranked second in team history and his 59 career starts put him first on the school’s all-time list.
During his senior season of 2018, he posted an 8-5 record with a 3.14 ERA. Like Clement, he was picked in the fourth round by the Indians.
Scott pitched for four teams last year — moving up from Rookie ball to Class A Advanced –— and had a combined 3-1 record with a 1.85 ERA in 16 appearances, all out of the bullpen. He started this year in the Lynchburg rotation and went 3-7, though his ERA was a solid 3.45 and he struck out 74 in 57 1 ⁄ 3 innings. He made his Double-A debut with Akron on June 20 and surrendered six runs on nine hits in 5 2 / 3 innings while still making a positive impression on his new manager.
“The very first outing here he didn’t have a good outing and he found a way to come back and give the team a chance to win the ballgame,” Odor said. “We talked after the game and he knew. ‘I didn’t have my best stuff, I was working behind in the count too much.’ We ended up winning the ballgame, so when you see a pitcher like him who attacks the zone and challenges hitters and has one of those outings and he continues to compete and give your team a chance to win ballgames, that says a lot about the kid.”
In three starts since then, Scott has pitched 18 2 ⁄ 3 innings scoreless innings while allowing just 11 hits and striking out 20.
“I haven’t done a whole lot of reflection on (the season) just because we’re in the middle of it, but I feel like I’ve taken strides in getting better each day and refining my craft,” he said. “I definitely feel very happy with where I’m at. I definitely feel like I have a long way to go, but I’m on the right path and taking the right steps to where I want to get.”
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Scott said he has improved all four of his pitches this season, upgrading his curveball and change-up to go with an effective fastball and a biting slider. Odor describes Scott as a deceptive lefty with a nice breaking ball, a good change-up and the ability to hit the mid-90s with his fastball. While Scott prefers starting, it’s possible he could return to the bullpen further down the road.
“I think he can be a starter in the big leagues, but if they need a lefty out of the pen and you have five starters in the big leagues, he’s going to be fine,” Odor said.
Scott said the jump from college baseball to pro is a mental adjustment more than anything else, with a need to pay more attention to the little details.
“Definitely had some really bad outings, but I’ve also had some really good ones,” Scott said. “That’s the game. It’s going to happen. I’m just happy because I feel like I’m learning a lot about myself as a pitcher. I’m learning baseball on another level. At the end of the day I feel like I’ve gotten better from each start out. Whether the results are there or not my process of going about it has gotten better each time.”
Living in the present
Both Scott and Clement had glowing words for Akron’s fan base and its home at Canal Park, with both rating it among the nicest stadiums in which they’ve played.
The obvious goal for each is to reach the majors. The focus, though, is on the next pitch or at-bat as they try to put themselves in position to achieve that objective.
“I use the big picture as motivation, but I try not to dwell on it,” Scott said. “I don’t want to miss out on today. More than anything else, these guys here, they’re an awesome group of guys. I obviously love hanging around with them. If I’m too focused on the big picture of trying to make it to the big leagues, then I’m losing out on the chance to possibly build lifelong friendships.
“I really try and appreciate each day and appreciate the chances I get out here. Even where I’m at now is something that a lot of people would love to do it. If I was wiping that to the side, I’d be doing a lot of people a disservice.”
Clement said he has a “really incredible opportunity” in being able to play professional baseball, adding when his time comes it will come. For now, he’s exactly where he wants to be.
“Every time I step out onto the field I just think how lucky I am,” Clement said. “I will never take a second for granted out on a baseball field. It’s my favorite place in the world and it’s even cooler when you have tons of screaming fans and support from Rochester. Whenever people come out and see me play, it’s the coolest thing ever.”
Ernie Clement of the Akron RubberDucks runs to third base against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Clement played four varsity seasons at Brighton High School, compiling a .472 career average. PHOTOS BY ANDREW LEGARE/ELMIRA STAR-GAZETTE
Adam Scott, a former standout at Canandaigua Academy, says he has improved all four of his pitches this season, upgrading his curveball and change-up to go with an effective fastball and a biting slider.
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