It was a day like no other for Glen Lake baseball (23-3 overall, 12-0 NWC) as senior Cooper Bufalini and junior Benji Allen threw a no-hitter and a perfect game in back-to-back games against Suttons Bay last Thursday.
In game one, Bufalini took to the hill and dominated all afternoon, leading the Lakers to a 6-0 victory.
“I had no idea. I was thinking about it, then I walked a player (in the third inning). It didn’t cross my mind until the end,” Bufalini said.
Bufalini pitched six innings and struck out 13 in a masterpiece performance. This is the first no-hitter of Bufalini’s career. He can thank his breaking ball for dodging bats and his catcher, junior Peter Gelsinger.
“It feels good, and (Gelsinger) behind the plate, I never shake him off,” Bufalini said.
Leading hitters for the Lakers included Bufalini (2 hits), Allen (4 hits), Aiden Gokey (2 hits, 3 RBIs), Gelsinger (2 hits), and Isaac Hlavka (2 RBIs, double).
Suttons Bay senior pitcher Lucas Gordon pitched well in the loss with five strikeouts.
Allen entered the history books with his second career perfect game in the latter of the back-to-back games, securing a 12-0 victory.
“I knew it was happening and had full faith in the guys behind me to make plays and stay confident on the mound,” Allen said.
Allen’s second career-perfect game was highlighted by 12 strikeouts in five innings of work. Allen is only the fourth baseball player in Glen Lake history (joining Karl Malcolm in 1999 and Josh Popa in 2006) to throw two perfect games in their career.
Glen Lake’s defense saved Allen’s perfect game four times, thanks to multiple heroic plays.
“It’s pretty cool during the game to know what’s happening. You can’t let the pressure get to you and just play the ball,” Allen said. “I think you have to stay in the moment ... It comes down to fundamentals.”
Allen also led the offensive with four hits, followed by Gokey (2 hits, 3 RBIs), Gelsinger (2 hits), and Hlavka (2 RBIs, double).
“We’ve seen some really good pitching performances in the past, but this is very, very unusual,” Glen Lake baseball coach Kris Herman said. “It speaks to how well they work at their craft and go back to their business. Both are very dedicated to pitching as an art.”
Glen Lake finished the regular season by traveling down to Traverse City Central for one last tune-up game before the district tournament this Saturday.
Norseman split with Forest Area
Suttons Bay baseball (11-17 overall, 5-6 NWC) split with Forest Area on Monday 0-4, 10-0.
Gordon pitched a solid game, but unfortunate runs and slow bats led to the 0-4 loss. In game two, Ty Brenner threw his first no-hitter of his career in the 10-0 win.
Suttons Bay ended the regu- lar season with a make-up game against Benzie yesterday.
Eagles close out against Mesick
Lake Leelanau St. Mary stole two games against Mesick 3-2, 10-9 in heart-racing fashion on Tuesday.
In game one, it came down to the final inning as Luke Gallagher scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning with a fielder’s choice in walk-off fashion .
Josh Bunek earned the win for the Eagles. The righty gave up two hits and two runs over six innings, striking out four and walking none.
Eli Kelenski, Pieter Hamilton, and Carter Wolf each had a hit for the Eagles.
In game two, the Eagles rallied to win 10-9 as St. Mary trailed by as many as five runs during the game. St. MAry took its first lead of the game in the fifth inning when it was tied 9-9 when they scored six straight runs. St. Mary senior Jerry Schaub had a home run to right field that drove in two runs.
Hamilton earned the win for the Eagles.
