A rare Saturday morning high school baseball game turned into something even rarer for Freedom starting pitcher Gaige Spano.
A perfect game.
For the first time in his life, the Patriot junior retired every batter he faced in order, needing only 71 pitches against Morgan High on April 4.
Coming off his worst outing of the season against Wharton, and despite a pregame bullpen outing that wasn’t the best, Spano (8-2 this season) was hitting his spots early and often. By the third inning, with his team ahead 5-0, he started to wonder if perfection was within his grasp.
But at that point, with the way his team was scoring runs, he figured he’d have to get to five innings before a possible mercy-rule would shorten his efforts.
Instead, he had to go all seven innings.
But his defense made sure he stayed perfect.
“When I looked back at it, every single person on the field made at least one play,” Spano said. “It wasn’t just me that had the perfect game. It was all of us, and I’m happy that everyone had a part in it.”
There were a few scary moments. Spano had one full count in one inning, and he decided to throw a curve ball. “It was a little risky,” he said. “I aimed a little on the inside of the plate, and he swung and missed.”
In the fourth inning, second baseman Devon Accord snagged a semi-blooper that was headed into right field. Spano said Accord “Odelled the ball,” referring to NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham’s iconic endzone catch in 2014.
“I gave him a hug afterwards,” Spano said.
And the seventh inning, with perfection within reach, was nerve wracking.
Spano recorded his eighth strikeout. Then an easy fly ball to center for the second out.
“One more guy,” Spano said to himself.
The final batter nubbed a grounder to third base. The ball hit the top of the bag and bounced up to third baseman Dominick Commiso, who threw low to first base. But David Simpkins scooped the throw out of the dirt, completing the gem.
“It was really amazing,” Spano said. “I was really happy. But after the play, when we were celebrating, I kind of blanked. I don’t really even remember the celebration. The only way I really know is by looking back at the pictures and video.”
With the playoffs right around the corner, Spano ended his regular season with another shutout four days later, a four-hit effort against King.
County Champs
The Vernon Korhn Hillsborough County Championships were held last week at Freedom High School, with a handful of locals taking gold.
The Wharton boys team produced four champions: Elijiah Stratford, Christoper Hilton, Derek Cook and the 4x100 team.
Stratford won the 100 meters in 10.85 seconds and took third in the 200. Hilton was the champion in the 200, however, clocking a time of 21.88.
Derek Cook posted a 1 minute, 57.30 second time to capture the 800 meters, beating Strawberry Crest’s Jaxon Kiper by less than half a second.
In the 4x100 relay, Wharton’s Ty Nesmith, Chris Stround, Hilton and Stratford won with a time of 42.08. The Wildcats also finished second in the 4x800 relay, with Andrew Handy also taking second in the shot put.
Freedom’s lone county champion was Maggie Takamatsu, who cleared 3.06 meters, or 10 feet, in the high jump. Elijah Dye was second in the triple jump, while Isabella Selvaggi was third in the 3,200-meter run.
King’s Mason Lablance was the school’s top finisher, capturing second in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:26.22.