Olympia's Nicholas Gordon had a base hit for the East in the Perfect Game Classic on Sunday at Petco Field in San Diego.
File photo by Mike Janes
A pair of mid-west standouts proved to be the difference for the West in the Perfect Game Classic as Keaton McKinney and
Jakson Reetz put on a show in an 8-6 victory Sunday at Petco Field in San Diego.
Reetz, a 6-1, 190-pound catcher from
Norris (Firth, Neb.) was the hitting star for the West as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs, including a run-scoring double in the second inning. He also had three stolen bases. For his performance, Reetz was chosen the game's most valuable player.
Meanwhile McKinney, a 6-5, 220-pound pitcher from
Ankeny (Iowa) only recently completed his senior season since Iowa plays its baseball season during the summer. He was definitely in good form as he did not allow a run or a hit and struck out three batters in picking up the win.
"I'm really honored to be one of the guys to get this (award), playing with the 50 best guys in the nation," Reetz told Perfect Game's Patrick Ebert. "This has been a great experience for me and I just have to keep working hard and keep going with my career."
Reetz's double in the second inning helped the West build an early 2-1 lead, but the East took the lead back in the bottom of the frame with two runs of their own. The West broke out for three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth and ninth to build a lead it would never relinquish.
While Reetz was the only player in the game with two hits, the West did have six other players with base hits.
Alex Jackson,
Trenton Kemp,
Darius Day,
D.J. Peters,
Jacob Gatewood and
Stone Garrett all had hits, with Gatewood and Peters each knocking in a run.
Besides McKinney, the West had five with at least two strikeouts, including
Brady Aiken,
Tyler Kolek,
Kodi Medeiros,
Luis Ortiz and
Michael Kopech. Medeiros and
David Peterson were the only West pitchers to throw perfect frames.
For the East,
Nicholas Gordon,
Michael Gettys,
Justin Smith,
Carl Chester,
Chase Vallot,
Tiquan Forbes and
Michael Chavis each had a base hit with Gettys belting a double. Forbes and
Maurice Cooley had the only RBIs for the East.
Three East pitchers struck out three batters, including
Cobi Johnson,
Touki Toussaint and
Sean Reid-Foley. Johnson and Reid-Foley each pitched a perfect inning but Toussaint gave up three runs on no hits with three walks and was tagged with the loss.
Grant Holmes and
Justus Sheffield each had two strikeouts for the East as well.
The victory marked the third straight year that the West has won the Perfect Game Classic. The West leads the all-time series 6-4-1.
