Justin Hooper outduels Joe DeMers in showdown of potential MLB Draft first-round picks

BERKELEY, Calif. — About 2,500 jammed in and around Evans Diamond Saturday on the campus of the University of California to watch two potential first-round draft picks match pitch-for-pitch.

They didn't disappoint.

Towering De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 6-foot-7, 230-pound lefthander Justin Hooper and burly 6-2, 230-pound College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) righthander Joe DeMers locked horns for five scoreless innings before something finally burst.

Or in this case blasted.

De La Salle's Blake Ogburn, no slouch at 6-3 and 235 pounds, belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth one batter after Michael Reuling broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single as the Spartans defeated DeMers and the nation's No. 11 team 3-0 in a tidy game that lasted 93 minutes.

Hooper struck out the side in the seventh, giving him five in two innings and 10 for the game. He gave up just two hits, with no walks and two batsmen while stranding five runners in the third and fourth innings.

He handed DeMers his first defeat in his last 22 starts. Remarkably, the Washington commit had won 21 consecutive starts over three seasons. He came into the game 9-0 and the front-runner for the nation's player of the year honors, according to MaxPreps National Baseball Editor Kevin Askeland.

DeMers and Hooper played against each other as far back as when they were 10 years old. The last few years they've played together in All-American games.

"We go way back," Hooper said. "It was exciting to throw against him again."

It was hard to tell if Hooper was excited. Projected as a top 15-35 pick, Hooper said he blocked out the crowd, the radar guns and dozens of TV and photographic cameras.

"It was just a regular game and I tried to compete the best I could," he said. "I was just worried about what was going on on the field."

Said De La Salle coach David Jeans: "He was dialed in. He's got a routine and he knows what he wants to do. It's fun coaching a kid like that."

He topped out at 95 mph, but College Park (18-4), with seven scholarship players, was making good contact.

Hooper (5-2) adjusted and used a sharp breaking ball to retire 10 straight before a two-out infield single by Tommy Hammill in the seventh. He got Hank DaRe on strikes to finish off his first complete game of the season.

"When he throws fastballs he can beat a lot of teams," Jeans said. "But they're really, really good. They have a lot of D-1 guys and D-1 hitters. We knew he had that (the curveball) as a weapon. He just needed to use it a little more against better hitters."

DeMers, who entered 9-0 with a 0.22 ERA, was working on a three-hitter with five strikeouts entering the sixth.

DeMers, who topped out at 93 mph, had retired eight straight before a Joe Vranesh leadoff double in the fifth. He left him stranded with a popout, strikeout and groundout. In the sixth, Michael McAdoo doubled and then was sacrificed to third before Reuling drilled an RBI single up the middle. Ogburn then unloaded, his fourth of the season. He had gone 4-for-5 with a home run, three runs and three RBIs in a 16-12 win over Foothill on Friday.

"He doesn't have any D-1 offers and I can't believe it," Jeans said of Ogburn. "He's been our most RBI producer. … He's really, really good."

DeMers said his fastball was very good, but not much else.

"I'd give my fastball an 'A' but my curveball was a ‘C,'" DeMers said. "I left my change-up up too much. Those are things I can work on."

DeMers said "playing here was a lot of fun. It was a great turnout and I'm glad to be a part of it. … (Hooper) is a great kid and a great competitor. I'm glad I got to compete against him."

As far as having his win streak snapped, "I'd rather we lose now than at (the North Coast Section playoffs)."

The teams could face off in the NCS Division I playoffs, which start in two weeks.

"We'll see them again at NCS," DeMers said. "I look forward to a rematch."