Baseball is a game of superstitions. And one of those old beliefs is nobody mentions a no-hitter to the guy throwing it until the game is over.
That’s exactly what happened to Thomas Jefferson right-hander Jeff Brigham Wednesday afternoon during Jefferson’s 11-0 win over the No. 9-ranked Kentwood Conquerors.
Brigham no-hit the previously unbeaten Conquerors on their home field. The game was stopped after five innings, thanks to a mercy rule. The win moved the Raiders to 4-3 in the South Puget Sound League North Division.
“No one on the team had said a word about a no-hitter; in fact no one really had thought about it except myself and Jeff,” said TJ head coach Mike Church. “Mostly we were in a little bit of a state of shock to be leading the No. 9-ranked team in the state by an 11-0 score.”
The Raiders, who lost to Kentridge on Tuesday afternoon, scratched out a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead on a ground out by Andrew Jones. Then, TJ exploded for four runs in the third and five more in the fourth to take a 10-0 lead. Jones had a two-run single in the third and Drew Staples connected on a three-run home run in the fourth to highlight the scoring.
But the story Wednesday was the pitching of Brigham, who was assisted by two great infield plays by second baseman Michael Sigafoos and shortstop Johnny Palko. Sigafoos bare-handed a weak chopper in the second inning and barely threw out the baserunner at first and Palko handled a bad hop an inning later.
“At the time, of course no one was thinking no-hitter,” Church said. “But I asked my assistant coach Greg Campbell immediately after Sigafoos threw out the runner to end the game, ‘Did we just get a no hitter?’ He glanced at his chart in surprise, and I said, ‘I think we did.’ As Jeff came off the mound with his usual big grin, I asked him and he said ‘Yep.’ After playing an atrocious game against Kentridge the day before, this was healing.”
Brigham has been used mostly as a closer during the early season, but got a chance to start Wednesday.
“Jeff does have a good fastball, but has a mix of pitches and a bulldog mentality,” Church said. “He was able to throw a variety of pitches for strikes and mix fastballs, which they had a hard time catching up with.”
Offensively, Sigafoos finished 3 for 4 with four runs and RBI and a double. Harold Adams was 3 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs, Jones finished 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs and Palko was 2 for 3 with a run and RBI.
Brigham has been used mostly as a closer during the early season, but got a chance to start Wednesday.
“Jeff does have a good fastball, but has a mix of pitches and a bulldog mentality,” Church said. “He was able to throw a variety of pitches for strikes and mix fastballs, which they had a hard time catching up with.”
Offensively, Sigafoos finished 3-for-4 with four runs, an RBI and a double. Harold Adams was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs. Jones finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, and Palko was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
In other baseball action:
• The Decatur Gators (4-2) tallied double-digit runs in a pair of victories over Spanaway Lake Wednesday, 17-4, and Graham-Kapowsin, 10-2, Tuesday.
Against Spanaway Lake, Kramer Stuth finished 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs and Zach Jacobs picked up the win on the mound.
Matt Elya finished 2 for 2 and Ryan Kim ended up 3 for 4 with a double. The Gators pounded out 12 hits.
Against Graham-Kapowsin, Greg Bull got the win on the mound and Nelson Atkinson, C.J. Andrus and Stuth all finished with two hits apiece.
• Beamer moved to 4-3 in the SPSL South by splitting with Rogers and Puyallup. The Titans beat Rogers Wednesday, 5-3, thanks to the pitching of Carson Wolbert and a pair of RBIs by Travis Crumb.
The Titans had no answer for University of Washington-bound pitcher Adam Cimber on Tuesday during a 5-2 loss to Puyallup.
