We left on Friday,  June 9 to play ball at the Collegiate league in South Florida. @CLPalmBeaches.
Living in an apartment, training 4 times a week, and playing 3 games a week is exciting. The fields are great and the competition is high.

Leo is playing in West Palm Beach at the Ball Park of the Palm Beaches .  It is actually where the Washington Nationals @Nationals  train in their off season. It's ironic that a kid from New York ends up playing on the spring training fields of his FAVORITE TEAM!!!. @Bharper3407
Leo has been a Nats fan since he was 12. You should have seen his face when we arrived.

Leo's first game. He is an outfielder and pitcher on this team and is having a blast. He had another great diving catch but struck out at his first at bat. Playing hard against the south florida crew should get him ready for his college career.  Looking forward to his growth this season.

Great Championship game

http://www.newsday.com/sports/high-school/baseball/jason-diaz-pitches-gem-as-kellenberg-wins-chsaa-title-1.13684020

Leo makes 3 amazing plays for St. John the Baptist Baseball team during its championship game against Kellenberg.  Newsy reports lets awesome defensive play and aggressive offense. Two hit in the game both with 2 outs. Read the newsy article. It was a great way to leave his high school baseball career. "If Leo didn't get injured mid season he would have been rated one of the best players on Long Island," said Dalton, Athletic Director of SJB.  It was evident today. Leo saved the best for last.

News 12 Varsity - Leo Clarke Makes on of the Best Defensive Plays of the Week 5/21/2017

Leo's supreme defensive play stops another run from coming in at the Catholic league championship games on May 21, 2017. News 12 saw this play and recognizes it as outstanding defense.  If you view the link you can also see #3 hit a bomb in play of the week #4.

We are all voting a fun way to go out and close his high school baseball career.

http://www.news12varsity.com/plays-of-the-week-5-31-2017-1.1874530

D2 Signing Day at St. John The Baptist High , DHS

It was a great day for Leo Clarke and his family. He signed his national letter of intent with SJB athletic Director, Ralph Dalton. "I worked really hard to get to here", said Leo Clarke 2017 graduate. "I always wanted to play in Florida. It's just a different level of baseball over there and AMU is offering me the opportunity to be a 2 way player which is also really great. Although I'm a pitcher I am a strong hitter and I don't want to give that up just yet".
#avemariagyrenes #2017SJBGraduates #LoveBaseball

St. John the Baptist Varsity Baseball players, Clarke and Shaw share a three hit game against St. Anthony's

Check out the story on Axcess Baseball's.

Things got dicey in the bottom of the ninth. After consecutive singles, Vallas was
able to bear down with back-to-back strikeouts of Will Shaw and Favicchio
before inducing a ground out to Rizzo to end the game for the hard-earned win.

Vallas recorded the win in relief with four shutout innings while compiling five strikeouts. 

With the victory, they improve to 4-0 on the season.

Ave Maria-commit Leo Clarke led the Cougars offensive attack–he went 3-for-5
with a run scored.

St. John's Cougars Lose It In OverTime Against St. Anthony's

• Cougars Lose it in OverTime Against St. Anthony's
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  • http://www.news12varsity.com/long-island/rose-blooms-for-st-anthony-s-in-extra-innings-win-1.1865993
  Cougars and St. Anthony's played a tight game, but St. Anthony's pulled out the 5-3 victory on Tuesday. The game was tied at three with St. Anthony's batting in the top of the ninth when Jordan Rose doubled off of Matt Galarza, driving in two runs.
  
  
  Cougars lost despite out-hitting St. Anthony's 13 to eight. Cougars captured the lead in the first inning. Logan O'Hoppe drove in one when he doubled in the first inning.
    St. Anthony's evened things up at three in the top of the seventh inning. Kyle Lagrutta's sac fly scored one run for St. Anthony's.
  Cougars collected 13 hits. Leo Clarke, William Shaw IV, Dan Favicchio, James Kibitel, and O'Hoppe each collected multiple hits for Cougars. Shaw IV and Clarke each collected three hits to lead Cougars.
  
  

  "Clarke is a hard out", said Coach Keiran Black of St. Anthony's. "He played Great!!"  

• Logan Vallas earned the win for St. Anthony's. He went three and two-thirds innings, allowing zero runs, four hits, and striking out six. Matt Galarza took the loss for Cougars. He tossed one and two-thirds innings, surrendering two runs, three hits, and striking out two.
  Jared Restmeyer started the game for St. Anthony's. He pitched five and a third innings, allowing three runs, nine hits, striking out two, and walking one. Greg Poggioli started the game for Cougars. He tossed six innings, allowing two runs, three hits, and striking out three.
  

  
  
• 
  

St. John the Baptist Varsity Baseball SHUTSOUT Holy Trinity in Three Game Series

    It wasn't an easy day for Holy Trinity as the St. John the Baptist Cougars got ahead early in the game.It was this early lead that propelled SJB to victory.  Cougars scored on a home run by William Shaw IV in the first inning, a triple by Matt Archer in the second inning, and a single by Leo Clarke in the second inning.Allow Clarke to earn an RBI.

    Cougars captured the lead in the first inning. Logan O'Hoppe's sac fly scored one run for Cougars. Cougars scored three runs in the second inning. Cougars scored on a triple by Archer and a single by Clarke. A double by Karp in the second inning was a positive for Holy Trinity. 

    Bryan Krolikowski earned the win for Cougars. He threw seven innings, giving up zero runs, two hits, striking out four, and walking one. Joseph Zawol took the loss for Holy Trinity. He pitched two and a third innings, giving up five runs, six hits, striking out two, and walking one. Cougars collected nine hits. Dan Favicchio, Archer, and Ryan Watson each collected multiple hits for Cougars. Watson, Archer, and Favicchio each managed two hits to lead Cougars to a 7-0 win.

The Cougars victory today locked Holy Trinity out of the series with zero runs scored.

St. John The Baptist Cougars Lock-Out Holy Trinity in Game 2 of this 3 Game Series

• 
  
  John Hanley didn't allow a single run as Cougars defeated Holy Trinity 2-0 on Friday. Hanley allowed just four hits and got Michael Zawol to hit into a fielder's choice to end the game. The pitching was strong on both sides.
• Ryan Watson and Matt Archer each drove in one run to lead Cougars. Leo Clarke had a hard ground ball to left field earning him a hit keeping his batting average well above .333. While Logan O'Hoppe was at bat Clarke stole 2nd Base before O'Hoppe was intentionally walked. As James Kibettel hit to short Clarke proceeded to third base was the inning came to end as Kibbetel was caught out at first.
• Clarke's consistent hitting has earned him the #2 spot in the batting line-up as he keeps his high OBP going.
• 
  

SJB beats St.Dom's 5/2

Cougars took the lead late and defeated St. Dominic 5-2 on Wednesday.  The game was tied at two with Cougars batting in the bottom of the sixth when Dan Favicchio singled off of Adam South, driving in one run. With Clarke up at bat he hits a triple driving in 2 runs solidifying the lead. 

Cougars captured the lead in the first inning.  Cougars scored one run when Logan O'Hoppe doubled with one out in the first inning.

Nicholas Jack earned the win for Cougars. He threw two innings, allowing one run, one hit, and striking out one.  Adam South took the loss for St. Dominic. He pitched  six innings, giving up five runs, seven hits, striking out five, and walking zero.

Greg Poggioli started the game for Cougars. He tossed  five innings, allowing one run, three hits, and striking out four.

Leo Clarke varsity baseball player for St.John the Baptist, commits to Playing college Baseball

Port Jefferson Station, NY, March 22nd, 2017. Leo Clarke, a recruit from Long Island Whalers, commits to play college baseball at Ave Maria University where he will be a 2 way player both RHP and OF.
Leo demonstrates significant force on the mound. His breaking ball at 76mph is his signature pitch. In the outfield leo has an uncanny ability to know where the ball is going at the crack of the bat and his speed allows him to be on-top of it. Leo comes with a lot of upside. we are all looking forward to watching him over the next 2-3 years as he develops into the player we think he will be.

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By the Numbers: Name: Leo Clarke Sport: Baseball High School Graduation Year: 2017 Height: 6' 4" Weight: 185 lbs Positions: P, CF, RF