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Funkhouser perfect for Oak Forest
Updated: May 3, 2011 10:52PM
Oak Forest pitcher Kyle Funkhouser couldn’t exactly remember how many no-hitters he’s thrown in his lifetime.
“Either six or seven,” the Louisville-bound junior right-hander said.
He does have a ball from each one sitting on a shelf in his bedroom.
What Funkhouser was certain about was that he never fired a perfect game.
That is, until Tuesday.
Funkhouser retired 15 straight batters, 11 of them on strikes, to lead Oak Forest to a 16-0 five-inning win against Shepard in Palos Heights.
Generally, a perfect game comes with some drama.
Not this one.
The four Astros (6-15 overall, 4-9 in South Suburban) that put the ball in play were retired on easy ground outs.
“I felt really good,” Funkhouser said. “I was throwing hard right off the bat.”
And the Bengals (14-3-1, 10-1) scored runs right off the bat — three in each of the first three innings before exploding for five in the fourth to take a 14-0 lead.
Oak Forest registered 19 hits, with every starter in the line-up recording at least one.
Bobby Sheppard led the attack, going 4-for-5 with three RBI. Tim Barry (3-for-4, 3 RBI) had three hits, while Brian Richard (2-for-3, 2 RBI, Kyle Linares (2-for-4, 2 RBI), John Zubek (2-for-5, RBI) and Tom Livingston (2-for-3) had multiple hit days for the Bengals.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity, some tough situations,” Oak Forest coach Thad Gatton said. “I’ve been tough and persistent in what I believe in. But the kids are finally getting it. We hit the crap out of the ball today and Kyle was outstanding.”
Funkhouser struck out the first five batters he faced, generally relying on his 90 mph fastball. He would eventually mix in some breaking pitches during his 66-pitch gem.
“Cold weather, a guy throwing hard and a pitcher of his quality, that’s not a good mix for us,” said Shepard coach Frank DiFoggio, who started six underclassmen. “We haven’t really hit the ball well all year. But he did a great job.”
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