Goodfellas
06-24-2009, 07:23 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A perfect game is one thing. But Norwalk High pitchers Matt Dermody and Kole Klocko nearly pulled off a perfect doubleheader.
Dermody, a senior, struck out all 18 batters he faced in a six-inning perfect game Monday night. Klocko, a junior, closed the doubleheader against South Tama High with a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 10 while issuing just one walk.
Dermody and Klocko, who are best friends, didn't stop there: Dermody hit home runs in each game and Klocko hit a pair of doubles.
Norwalk won both games 10-0. High schools in Iowa play baseball in the summer, and games are called if a team is ahead by 10 or more runs after five innings.
"I was just really focused that night," Dermody said. "I had really good control of my fastball."
Iowa High School Athletic Association spokesman Bud Legg said Dermody's effort is the first recorded instance of an Iowa pitcher striking out every batter he faced. Legg said the state's record books go back to 1929.
"Guy after guy after guy, they go down, and I'm just thinking to myself, I'm like 'This is crazy,"' Klocko said of Dermody's outing.
Dermody, a 6-foot-5 lefthander, was recently drafted in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/teams/pirates). He said he won't make a decision until the end of summer on whether to go to Iowa or play pro ball.
He has made a good impression with both the Hawkeyes and Pirates so far this season. Dermody, who according to Norwalk coach Chad Wiedmann throws in the mid- to upper 80s with a good curveball and changeup, is 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA and 54 strikeouts in just 20 innings.
It was the first no-hitter for the 18-year-old Dermody. He acknowledged that a small part of him wanted the game to keep going because of how well he was throwing, but teammate Eric Smith ended the game with a double in the bottom of the sixth to push the game to 10-0.
"Either way, I'm just out there to have fun and wish the best for my team," Dermody said.
Klocko, who played left field during Dermody's perfect outing, figured that South Tama would "tee off" on him because he throws a bit slower than Dermody and the opposition would be chomping at the bit after such a woeful opener.
But Klocko, 17, nearly matched Dermody until issuing his lone walk, in the fourth inning.
"I didn't really look at it as though, 'Man, I have to do just as good as he did.' It just kind of came," Klocko said.
Dermody, a senior, struck out all 18 batters he faced in a six-inning perfect game Monday night. Klocko, a junior, closed the doubleheader against South Tama High with a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 10 while issuing just one walk.
Dermody and Klocko, who are best friends, didn't stop there: Dermody hit home runs in each game and Klocko hit a pair of doubles.
Norwalk won both games 10-0. High schools in Iowa play baseball in the summer, and games are called if a team is ahead by 10 or more runs after five innings.
"I was just really focused that night," Dermody said. "I had really good control of my fastball."
Iowa High School Athletic Association spokesman Bud Legg said Dermody's effort is the first recorded instance of an Iowa pitcher striking out every batter he faced. Legg said the state's record books go back to 1929.
"Guy after guy after guy, they go down, and I'm just thinking to myself, I'm like 'This is crazy,"' Klocko said of Dermody's outing.
Dermody, a 6-foot-5 lefthander, was recently drafted in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/teams/pirates). He said he won't make a decision until the end of summer on whether to go to Iowa or play pro ball.
He has made a good impression with both the Hawkeyes and Pirates so far this season. Dermody, who according to Norwalk coach Chad Wiedmann throws in the mid- to upper 80s with a good curveball and changeup, is 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA and 54 strikeouts in just 20 innings.
It was the first no-hitter for the 18-year-old Dermody. He acknowledged that a small part of him wanted the game to keep going because of how well he was throwing, but teammate Eric Smith ended the game with a double in the bottom of the sixth to push the game to 10-0.
"Either way, I'm just out there to have fun and wish the best for my team," Dermody said.
Klocko, who played left field during Dermody's perfect outing, figured that South Tama would "tee off" on him because he throws a bit slower than Dermody and the opposition would be chomping at the bit after such a woeful opener.
But Klocko, 17, nearly matched Dermody until issuing his lone walk, in the fourth inning.
"I didn't really look at it as though, 'Man, I have to do just as good as he did.' It just kind of came," Klocko said.