Hammond Academy blanks Calumet : Preps

GARY | Hammond Academy’s Cody Glass tossed curveball after curveball, proving he was in an excellent rhythm as he sent Calumet’s hitters back to the dugout wondering what hit them.

The senior southpaw pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits while striking out 15 batters as the Hawks edged Calumet 3-0 in the RailCats McDonald’s High School Challenge at U.S. Steel Yard on Saturday.

“I felt good as soon as I started, and just kept a rhythm the whole time,” said Glass, who had six straight strikeouts at one point. “I get them with the curve. It starts outside, breaks really quick and gets them every time.”

Every year, Glass has been the ace of the Hawks. That hasn’t changed, as Glass and his team continue to develop nicely and are looking to make a statement this season.

“You can always rely on Cody to throw strikes,” Hammond Academy coach Eric Arcella said. “He’s definitely a workhorse out on the mound. He’s one of a kind. He really knows how to control all of his pitches.”

Both teams struggled with their bats due to the fact that neither squad has been able to practice much due to the cold weather. Calumet mustered just two hits, while Hammond Academy had none. However, the Hawks (1-0) were able to manufacture runs due to drawing seven walks.

“It’s kind of the way our team is working,” Arcella said. “It’s hard for us to get everything working at once. One day, when our hitting is going our defense is struggling, or vice versa. I’m not concerned about our offense. It’s the first game of the season to shake off some cobwebs.”

Hammond Academy picked up a run in the second inning when Caden Bell scored on a passed ball. Two frames later, the Hawks capped their scoring by plating two runs off of four walks.

Calumet (0-2) pitchers T.J. Thomas and Montell Winbush were solid despite being a bit wild. Coach Brian Arthur is confident that the solid pitching will combine with a more potent offense as the season goes on.

“We played good defense,” Arthur said. “We’ll get there. We haven’t really been able to bat much. If we get our batting to turn around here, we’ll have a halfway decent season.”