Clayton Norrell, Amarillo High Baseball, Sr.
On the diamond: Norrell set the tone on the mound for the Sandies in their sweep of El Paso El Dorado in last week’s Class 5A Division I area round of the playoffs in Odessa. The left-hander continued to establish his reputation as the ace of a deep pitching staff in last Thursday’s series opener, keeping El Dorado in check by giving up only three singles before the Sandies got untracked at the plate in the final three innings to cruise to an 8-0 victory. He helped himself at the plate as well with an RBI single. The next day, freshman right-hander Taegen Tate followed suit by throwing five one-hit shutout innings while Jayden Cedillo closed things with two shutout innings for a 4-0 win to complete the double shutout sweep. Norrell, who was the District 3-5A MVP last season, has lived up to his reputation with a 6-2 record and one save and starts at first base when he’s not pitching. He’ll continue his baseball career next year pitching at Midland College.
Coach Randon Johnson: “If you script up a guy who’s started a playoff game for us four years in a row, that’s exactly what you’re looking for. Clayton went out there and did his thing and really gave us a chance to kind of wake the bats up even if it didn’t happen until later in the game. When you’ve got a guy like Clayton out there it gives everybody confidence that we’ve got our best chance to win out there starting off the series. He was our game three guy in the first round (a 10-5 win over Abilene High). I think it’s a lot about what best suits us. Anytime you go out even with a scouting report, if you haven’t seen somebody live it’s a little bit different. Having Clayton out there and being able to throw a shutout in the first game you got a chance to have some live ABs with batters and it gives the next guy confidence.”
Norrell: “I felt like the fastball was working early in the counts. I threw the slider to get a couple of strikeouts. It’s extremely important to win game one of a playoff series and get that first win underneath your belt. It was just another win and it’s great to be out here for another week of Sandie baseball. I try to not get too high or not get too low. The farther you keep going the more responsibility it is but it’s always a privilege to just be the game one guy. I try to give (Tate) as much information as possible as a pitcher knowing what guys best at bats are and where they like the ball and don’t like the ball. We try to share as much information with each other as possible. I think all the seniors think that way, I try not to let the pressure get to me. It’s just another baseball game and I’m proud to wear the Sandie baseball logo across my chest.”
About Norrell
Favorite band or musician: Randy Travis
Favorite social media platform: Instagram
Favorite athlete: Josh Hamilton
Bet you didn’t know: Likes to play golf
Parents: Zack and Jean Norrell