Keaton Stankowski not only pitched a perfect game for the St. Charles Preparatory School baseball team, he flirted with ultimate perfection.
The senior struck out the first 14 batters he faced against 41st-seeded Columbus West in an 11-0, five-inning victory May 7 at home in the first round of the Division I district tournament. He then induced a ground out to second to end the game.
Stankowski also threw 4 2/3 no-hit innings May 4 in a 6-0 win over Thomas Worthington. He threw 72 pitches with 10 strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters.
“We had a pitch count for him (against Thomas) because we knew we wanted to throw him against West and had to keep him under 75 pitches,” coach Ray Benjamin said. “We threw fastballs (against West) and that’s all we threw. He had good location.”
The 21st-seeded Cardinals improved to 16-9 and advanced to play at 14th-seeded Teays Valley on May 9 in the second round.
Stankowski is 5-1 with a 1.46 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 11 walks in 33 2/3 innings.
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