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For almost three years, Summer Clark planned to pitch in the Southeastern Conference. She had verbally committed to the University of Missouri during her freshman year of high school. But last fall, Clark got a voicemail from a Mizzou coach saying that the Tigers could not honor her verbal commitment. They already had too many players, the coach said, and COVID-19 restricted the team’s number of scholarships. Clark, who thought she was done with the recruiting process, had to start it all over again.

Next fall, Clark will join Syracuse’s pitching staff after finishing her career at Williamsville East High School. During her sophomore season, Clark led Williamsville to a top-10 national ranking after going 27-0. Clark pitched a complete-game shutout against Ballston Spa in the 2019 state championship game, leading Williamsville to its first-ever state title. That same year, Clark was named an All-American and the best player in New York by MaxPreps.

Before receiving national recognition and earning several Power Five scholarship offers, Clark watched her two older sisters — who both went to Division I schools for softball and volleyball — compete in their games from behind the backstop. When she was 6 years old, Clark began pitching with one of her older sister’s pitching coaches. Even at an early age, Clark’s velocity and strength stood out, her father, Doug Clark, said. 

“She started throwing in the backyard pitching, and she was already throwing harder than girls five, six years older than her,” Doug said.

As she continued to develop as a left-handed pitcher, her height helped her progress beyond her age group, her dad said. Now, Clark is 6-foot-2, which will make her one of Syracuse’s tallest players when she arrives next season.

Clark pitched all four years on Williamsville’s varsity team, but her high school coach, Christopher Durr, said she could’ve pitched for Williamsville as a middle schooler if the team had spots available. She dominated high school hitters with her size, strength and ability to throw six different pitches, her coach said. 

Summer Clark was named an All-American and the best player in New York after her sophomore season at Williamsville (New York) High School. Courtesy of Summer Clark

“What really makes her effective is putting the right pitch in there at the right location at the right time. She has really good control with accuracy and has multiple pitches,” Doug said.

Clark’s drop ball comes into the hitter looking like a fastball but then drops under the batter’s swing, Doug said. Clark used her drop ball to help Williamsville advance to the state sectional finals in her freshman season. Despite losing the state sectional game, Clark was motivated going into her record-breaking sophomore season.

During her sophomore season, she recorded an ERA of 0.40 in nearly 105 2/3 innings, striking out 141 batters and going 15-0. Clark also batted .471 with 25 RBIs, striking out just three times while typically hitting in the middle of Williamsville’s lineup. 

“She never gets too excited or too down depending on what things are happening,” Durr said. “She is very level-headed … When things are going wrong you don’t really see it, and when things are going great she’s not overly too excited.”

Clark was one of two starting pitchers for the team. She pitched in 15 games and, when she wasn’t on the mound, she played first base. In 2019, the team made it to state championships for the second straight season. Clark appeared five times in the tournament, giving up only two runs and pitching in the winning state title game.

One year later, Clark lost her junior year to the pandemic. Clark is coming to SU as one of Syracuse’s top pitchers in program history, Alexa Romero, is graduating. As head coach Shannon Doepking looks elsewhere for a new ace, Clark could be called on early to fill innings.

“I think she will do a good job of stepping in,” Durr said. “(She) puts the time in, so it’s always nice to have the players that want to play and … work hard and really, really love the game, and that’s her.”

Published on May 10, 2021 at 10:41 pm

Contact Zach: zhgoldma@syr.edu