Photo by Stephen Dachman
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There’s not much more a single player could do for his baseball team than Josh Frye did for Millikan in a 1-0 win over the Wilson Bruins at Blair on Wednesday. He threw a complete game one-hitter, and went three-for-three himself, notching the game’s only extra-bases hit and the game’s only run. Asked if he could have played any better, the even-keeled senior responded, “Yeah, allowed one less hit and not walked anyone.”
In one of the fastest baseball games you’ll ever see (not more than a few ticks over 90 minutes), both Frye and Wilson starter Kyle Ritter flew through the innings, with just five total hits in the game after six, two of those belonging to Frye. In the top of the seventh, Frye led off with a base hit, a single he stretched into a double by seeing Wilson’s right fielder misplay the ball. “He’s just a good baseball player,” said his coach, Scott Glasser. “He understands, he know what he’s doing—he was looking at the outfield as he came around first, and he went.” As a result, Millikan brought Matt Clampitt to the plate with no pressure, a runner on second with no outs. His single put runners on the corners with no outs, making it an easy play for Adam Annella to put a sac fly into center, scoring Frye standing up. Tanner Lowrey flied out and Avery Flores struck out looking to end the inning, with Millikan taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Frye squelched any hope of a comeback early; after he plunked Blake Cooper (the lone Bruin he’d previous walked), Wilson tried to bunt, but the ball came off the bat high. Frye made the heads up play to catch it in the air, then gun it to first to get Cooper out before he could tag back. Then he got Chris Hubbard to ground out to a diving Clampitt, earning Millikan their first league victory of 2010.
“It’s downright frustrating,” said Wilson coach Andy Hall of the loss. “It’s little executions. If we keep [Frye] to a single, we’re still playing. He did a marvelous job…but I feel bad for Kyle.” Wilson’s starter was impressive, striking out two while allowing six hits and one earned run over seven innings; he just wound up on the wrong end of a pitcher’s duel. “And when your opponent’s pitcher outhits you 3-1, it could go a lot worse,” pointed out Hall.
“I thought he dominated the game,” said Glasser of his senior ace, whose off-speed pitches seemed to keep Wilson out of rhythm all game. Millikan came into the game 0-2 in league and desperately needing a win to kickstart some positive momentum. “That’s a huge game,” said Glasser. “They’re a great team, and it takes a monkey off our back [to get the first win], maybe helps us relax a little.”
Frye shrugged off praise for his efforts after the game. “That’s why I’m in the lineup,” he said. “To get the job done.”
Millikan is now at 1-2 in league, while Wilson falls to 1-1. The Rams will face Cabrillo on Friday, while Wilson will play Jordan before the league takes a Spring Break hiatus next week.