Wicked Aces Pitching Shines in Hot Start

                The Whiteford Wicked Aces jumped out to a strong start to the season on Sunday, sweeping both the Donkeys and King Friday. The Aces, a first-year expansion team, demonstrated their depth at pitching by utilizing four different pitchers to combine for 22 innings of shutout ball. More amazingly, the team had two perfect games (by the #3 and #4 pitchers in its rotation) and a no-hitter while allowing only six runners. The most well-known WWA player, Austin Bischoff, opened the day with a 7-inning no-hitter, Joel Crozier came in relief to work out of a no-out, bases loaded jam in the first and allowed one hit over 5 innings of work, and Justin Hughes and Evan Bischoff both tossed perfectos against fellow expansion team King Friday. Rookie Zach Perry added an offensive spark and played flawless defense for the 4-0 Aces.

                In the opening game, Austin, a potential Clown Shu candidate, looked sharp on the mound, commanding several different pitches effectively to prevent the Donkeys from earning a hit. While he walked two batters, Austin avoided any major threats on his way to the win. On the offensive side, the Aces had trouble driving hits into the face of a strong breeze, but managed to squeak in the eventual winning run in the top of the seventh on Perry’s RBI single. The game-winning hit capped off an excellent first game for Perry, who went 4-for-7.

                The scariest moment of the second game came in the bottom of the first inning against the Donkeys. Evan could not locate the strike zone, walking the bases loaded and prompting Austin, the Ace captain, to bring in Joel Crozier in relief. Crozier managed to work out of the jam with three straight strikeouts and cruised through four more shutout innings. WWA plated two runs on RBI’s by Evan and Hughes to secure the win.

                Justin Hughes, whose only previous wiffle experience came in the 2011 WSEM Beat It Tournament, showed remarkable control throughout his domination of King Friday. His only 4-ball count came with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, when the count ran to 4-0.  Hughes responded by drilling the outer half of the board twice in a row, preserving the perfect game; he went on to clinch it in the fifth and finished with 13 strikeouts. KF’s pitching staff did a great job, but allowed one run in the second; Hughes ensured that it was enough.

                A no-hitter and a perfect game would have made for a good day, but Evan decided that one perfect game deserves another, tossing his own gem against King Friday. Although both perfect games came against a first-time team, the mere fact that the Aces’ #3 and #4 pitchers were able to avoid walks is impressive nevertheless. The WWA finally broke out their bats for the final game, pounding out 6 runs in the first two innings to provide Evan with a cushion.

               The season’s early, and the Aces are having fun and looking forward to their first home game on Saturday, May 5.