After the Whistle: Cape’s Jaxon Clampitt

LEWES, Del. – “Right when I step on the mound, when my song comes on, I’m just locked in right there.”

Jaxon Clampitt is a starting pitcher for Cape baseball. The Florida Tech commit is having a career year as a senior, a far cry from a rocky start to his Vikings baseball career.

“It’s crazy because this freshman year, I actually had surgery on my elbow and I wasn’t even able to play at all freshman year. So then coming from that sophomore year, I got a little bit of playing time on varsity. And then now just like dominating on the mound and having lots of fun on my team, it’s been pretty exciting,” Clampitt said.

Clampitt’s domination on the mound comes thanks to a fastball topping out at 90 miles an hour and a recent refinement of his arsenal: “My curveball has, like, just gotten to be one of my better pitches. Like, it used to not break as much, but recently with a couple of tweaks, it’s gotten a lot better and able to break a lot more…I could throw it 0-0, 0-2, 1-1. Any count really, I can throw my curveball.”

Clampitt said that he’s reaping the rewards of the hard work put into his game because he’s a competitor by nature.

“The competition and trying to be better and work hard to like better myself and be the best I can be, really is what makes me love the game the most…with pitching, you’re obviously you want to beat the hitter. So working on my pitches to make them better, work on throwing harder and just stuff like that is makes me want to work harder”

It’s a high pressure job–starting for the two-time state champs and one of the hottest teams in Delaware–but for Clampitt, it’s all about living in the zone.

“Obviously I’m a little a little bit nervous before the game because, like, it’s pitching. It’s on me. But, I’m still like breathing and trying to get myself relax, and then just not really even thinking too much. Just, like, in the zone.”