Yorktown alum Clay Dungan poses with family and his North-South All-Star MVP award.
Yorktown’s Clay Dungan was already playing alongside some of the best baseball talent Indiana has to offer.
So it probably says something he was deemed most valuable among them.
The Tigers shortstop, closer and do-it-all hitter earned the distinction of being named MVP of the North-South All-Star series Saturday. Across the three games, the Indiana State-bound Dungan simply produced, surrounded by familiar faces.
“It was great to get to play with some guys I hadn’t played with in a while,” Dungan said. “Just growing up, I’d known quite a few of the guys, playing with them on travel teams and different things. It was just fun to be around them again.”
He said a bases-clearing triple in the opening game set the tone, built his confidence, and he pretty much went from there. Across the series, he went 6-for-13 with two doubles, two triples, a steal, four runs driven in and three scored. He also played most of the event at shortstop with a few innings at second.
He led the North to a clean sweep of the three games on ISU’s Bob Warn Field, where he’ll end up playing his college ball.
Dungan earned his spot in the series with a strong close to his high school career. As a senior, he led the Tigers with a .488 average, adding nine doubles, five triples and 13 steals. He mostly played shortstop for the 24-5 sectional-winning squad, but slipped on to the mound enough to earn six saves.
The series was a sendoff of sorts, a last run as a prep player. He’ll head off to Terre Haute to become a Sycamore on Aug. 14, but after this last hurrah, he won’t be doing it alone.
“There were six of us playing in the all-star games that are going to Indiana State,” Dungan said. “So quite a few of the guys. I’m looking forward to it.”