McClure, Longo to host baseball camp

In an effort to give back to the community and share their baseball skills and knowledge, two of the area’s most promising baseball prospects are joining forces.

Mentor graduate Kade McClure and Mayfield graduate Mitch Longo have teamed up to create and run the first Lake County Baseball Camp.

The inaugural event is set for Oct. 21 at Mentor High School’s varsity baseball field.

There are two sessions scheduled — one for ages 8 to 12 from 9 to 11:30 a.m.; and another for ages 13 to 18 from 12 to 2:30 p.m.

“Mitch and I go way back,” said McClure. “We’ve played against each so many times, and we’re good friends. We talked about this for a while, and thought this would be a great way to give back to the community.”

Cost for each participant is $80. In the event of bad weather, plans are being discussed of possibly moving the camp indoors to Mentor’s gymnasium, said McClure.

Mentor baseball coach and former Cleveland State player Jeff Haase will also be assisting.

McClure said there will be giveaways during the camp.

Depending on the success of the first camp, McClure is hopeful he and Longo can make it an annual event.

McClure and Longo will bring impressive credentials to their camp.

Longo was drafted by the Indians in 2016 in the 14th round. He played 60 games this season between the Lake County Captains and High Single-A Lynchburg, and batted .376 with four home runs, 28 RBI, 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases.

Longo was also the MidAmerican Conference Most Valuable Player in 2015 as a junior.

McClure was a seventhround pick of the White Sox in this year’s draft. As a Louisville junior this past season, McClure finished the season with a 8-4 record, a 3.58 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 103 innings pitched. For his college career, McClure was 21-4.

After he signed, McClure appeared in 10 games with three White Sox minorleague teams, the last Single-A Kannapolis.

McClure was 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings of work. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out 19.

For more information about the camp, email lakecountybaseballcamp@ gmail.com.