Sulfur — Catholic University of Baton Rouge's William Schmidt is said to be a potential first-round pick in the summer's major league draft, based on his reaction to John Curtis in the state baseball championship game. Every detail was on display.
Curtis, a hard-throwing right-hander, prevented a score with a one-hit shutout with nine strikeouts (six of which were wait-and-see) in top-seeded Catholic's 5-0 victory in the LHSAA Division I Selective State Championship. Saturday at McMurray Park.
Second-seeded Curtis (28 wins, 8 losses) had runners in scoring position in the first and second innings, but was unable to score in both innings. According to a radar gun held by a scout sitting eight rows up in the grandstand, the radar readings were 95 mph and 82 mph, two cold third strikes with consecutive fastballs and curveballs. finished.
Schmidt, who touched 96 mph at least twice on his scout's radar gun, had his worst game in the final five innings, holding 15 of the last 16 batters out.
“He was exactly what we expected him to be,” Curtis' coach, Jeff Curtis, said. “He commanded both sides of the plate. He was down in the zone for the most part. A few times we helped him take swings with high fastballs. He was in the batter's box. Being on the baseline is easier said than done.”
Curtis outscored Rummel pitching ace Giancarlo Arencibia, winning 2-1 in the semifinals that lasted 11 innings on Thursday, reaching the LHSAA regulation pitch limit of 115 pitches in the ninth inning and signing with Tulane. They won the tournament and advanced to the state finals. The same game plan didn't work this time either.
Catholic (38-2) took a 4-0 lead after two innings with three walks, two hits, one passed ball, and one wild pitch among Curtis' first two pitchers. The Bears added one more run in the fourth inning.
“We had to play close to perfect tonight and we didn't. It's going to be that way,” Jeff Curtis said.
In the first inning, Curtis led off with a walk by Nate Alario, stole second base, and reached third base with one out, creating a good scoring opportunity. The next batter hit the catcher's dribbler, putting him out on first base, and the inning ended with a ground out.
In the second inning, Curtis had one out and Connor Micheux walked, putting two runners on base, and Juan Washington hit a 93 mph fastball into center field with two outs and first base, and the next batter was struck out.
Dagan Bruno, who became the winning pitcher in the semifinals by pitching 4 2/3 innings without giving up a run, pitched the final 1/3 of an inning without giving up a run.
His final message to the team was that one loss does not define the season.
“At the end of the day, let's be honest here, no one expected us to be in this situation,” Jeff Curtis said. “Nobody gave us a chance to come here because we're not even in the top 25 in the state, we're not ranked in the top 10 overall in 5A, and we came here and danced. There's a lot to be said about joining.
