By Justin Rushia
Kaelen Clarkson is a 6’3” junior left-handed pitcher who has quickly established himself as one of the Cardinals’ top arms this season.
This is Clarkson’s first season with the Cardinals after transferring from SUNY Jefferson, where he played on the baseball team for two seasons. During his sophomore year, he earned NJCAA Region 3 First Team All-Conference honors and was a finalist for the Jefferson Community College Male Athlete of the Year. He pitched 31.2 innings that season, finishing with a 5.40 ERA and 27 strikeouts.
The left is an individual studies major and loves to hunt, fish, snowmobile and study history in his free time.
Clarkson has started four games for Plattsburgh this season, the most of any pitcher on the roster. The junior transfer also has recorded 11 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched this season.
This question and answer was conducted with Kaelen over email on March 25.
Question: What do you think will make Plattsburgh a scary team to play this season?
Answer: I think our team can be scary to play this year once we get our offense, defense and pitching all working together consistently.
Q: How does Plattsburgh baseball compare to baseball at SUNY Jefferson?
A: Plattsburgh baseball and Jefferson have a lot of similarities but also a lot of differences. I’d say the biggest similarity is that on both teams, everyone is hard working and dedicated to our goals as a team.
Q: While returning home from the Florida tournament, I heard that the baseball team was on the Southwest plane that tried to take off from the taxiway. What was your reaction to this situation?
A: On our aborted takeoff, everyone was a little worried and scared but mostly confused. We didn’t fully learn what happened until our second flight had landed.
Q: If you could face one MLB player, who would it be and why?
A: If I could face one MLB player, I’d probably pick Vladdy Jr. As a Canadian and lifelong Blue Jays fan, I’d love to face my team’s best player.
Q: What other pitcher on the team do you think you could take yard in a live at-bat and why?
A: I think I could take just about anybody on our team yard because even though I’ve been a PO (pitcher only) since I was 16, I hit a ball over 400 ft in pitcher’s batting practice in travel ball.
