baseball-d1 flag

Wayne Cavadi | NCAA.com | March 17, 2019

East Carolina baseball's Jake Kuchmaner throws the Pirates' first perfect game in program history

East Carolina Athletics Jake Kuchmaner tossed East Carolina baseball's first perfect game against Maryland.

East Carolina baseball’s Jake Kuchmaner made program history on Sunday. The sophomore lefty threw the Pirates' first perfect game, shutting down 27 straight Maryland hitters in the 3-0 victory. 

Kuchmaner throwing the perfect game may not be all that surprising. The southpaw started his run of dominance two starts back, coming within one strike of East Carolina’s first no-hitter in 14 years. That day, he shut down the Ole Miss bats for 8.2 innings, until he walked his second-to-last batter on a full count, allowing the Rebels' Thomas Dillard to break up the bid with a single to right.

RED-HOT PITCHERS: 5 college baseball hurlers you don't want to face right now

This past Tuesday, Kuchmaner one-hit Duke over 5.2 innings. He was a little wild, for him at least, walking three batters. That’s uncharacteristic for Kuchmaner who has just two walks over his other four appearances this season.

Kuchmaner baffled Maryland right off the bat, needing less than 10 pitches to get a couple of ground outs and a pop out in the first inning. He fell behind a few hitters on the day but faced only four full counts in his nine innings of work, needing 103 pitches to get through the Maryland lineup three times without a base runner. 

COLLEGE BASEBALL RANKINGS: Vandy still on top as newcomers highlight the latest poll

First baseman Alec Burleson had the big play in the ninth, saving Kuchmaner’s quest for perfection on a day where the fielders made everything look easy. Kuchmaner struck out eight batters in the game, five of which were swinging, including Kody Milton for the final out. 

The win gives the Pirates a much-needed sweep as they head into conference play this coming weekend against UCF.

Notre Dame, Wichita State, Tennessee clinch weekend sweeps over top 10 baseball teams

One day after No. 6 South Carolina swept No. 3 Florida and Georgia swept No. 5 Arkansas, three more top-10 teams fell to sweeps on Sunday.
READ MORE
Division I
Baseball Championship
June 14 - 24, 2024
Charles Schwab Field Omaha | Omaha, NE

Subscribe To Email Updates

Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners