Clay Hendry faced the minimum on Friday in seven innings of work against the Harwich Mariners, as the Y-D Red Sox took Game 1 of the second round with a 5-0 win.
Several words could describe Hendry’s outing at Whitehouse Field: magnificent, spectacular, jaw-dropping, astonishing. But the best word is dominant, a perfect summary of the right-hander’s performance. When the lights were brightest, Hendry rose to the occasion.
“All of my pitches were working, and I was throwing them exactly where I wanted to,” Hendry said. “Everything was firing on all cylinders.”
In 2025 at the University of North Florida, Hendry posted a 3.92 ERA over 59 2/3 innings, recording 64 strikeouts with a 1.257 WHIP and allowing just six home runs. During the regular season with Y-D, he gave up six runs in 11 1/3 innings.
On Friday, he was tasked with starting a playoff game for Y-D, marking his first appearance of the postseason. Facing Harwich was no easy assignment, especially after its lineup exploded in the opening series against Brewster. Nonetheless, Hendry settled right in.
“Before the game, I was feeling a little bit of pressure. Harwich is a great team, and I’ve seen what they’ve been doing all year,” Hendry said on pitching in the playoffs. “Once you get out there, it’s just baseball at the end of the day.”
Something that shouldn’t go unnoticed is that Hendry faced the minimum number of batters, despite allowing two baserunners. Nico Brini (Wofford) singled in the fourth inning but was quickly erased on a double play. Patrick Fultz (Wright State) drew a seven-pitch walk the following inning, only to be involved in another twin killing soon after.
“He threw a lot of first pitch strikes. When he didn’t throw a first-pitch strike, he was able to throw offspeed on a 1-0 count when he was behind,” pitching coach Eric Beattie said when asked about Hendry’s stellar day on the mound. “That’s what put him in situations where he pitched himself back into a lot of counts. He knows who he is, and he doesn’t try to do anything other than what he is. He never tries to do too much.”
The Y-D offense ran into some tough luck early, stranding six runners over the first three innings. They managed just one run during that stretch, which came on an RBI single by Ryan Niedzwiedz, his first of three hits on the night. Will Baker and Chris Hacopian joined the action in the fourth, extending the lead to four.
“It’s very easy for the offense, knowing that you can go up there and be aggressive,” Niedzwiedz said when asked about having a steady presence on the mound. “The offense we have is going to go a far way with him shoving on the mound.”
Not only did Hendry spark the offense, but his extended outing also saved the bullpen. He threw 90 pitches, which was easily one of the longest appearances by a Y-D pitcher this summer. Drake Frize, who tossed two hitless innings, was the only reliever needed on Friday. Combined with Thursday’s off-day, this leaves the Y-D coaching staff with a fully rested bullpen heading into Game 2 on Saturday.
“It’s huge. He’s the third starter who’s taken us into the later innings,” Beattie said. “That’s given our team a chance to be ahead every time they come out.”
The Y-D Red Sox will face off against Harwich on Saturday afternoon at Red Wilson Field, with a chance to advance to the finals. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
