HE'S PERFECT!
10
Junior Cory Abbott threw the first perfect game in LMU history on Saturday afternoon, proving perfect in a 2-0 LMU (13-10, 4-2 WCC) victory over BYU (10-11, 1-2 WCC). The right-hander struck out a career-high 13 hitters and used 106 pitches to dispatch of the Cougars.
The perfect game is the first at the Division I level this year, and is the 26th since 1957. The last perfect game came on March 11, 2016 when Jesse Scholtens was perfect for Wright State against Dayton. For a complete list of NCAA Division I perfect games, Click Here.
Abbott, who improved to 4-1 with the victory, sealed the perfect game with a strikeout of pinch hitter Tanner Chauncey, striking Chauncey out on a 3-2 pitch. LMU had thrown two previous no-hitters, including current volunteer assistant Matt Florer's no-hitter against Cal State Northridge on April 23, 2013. Bob Seus had LMU's first-ever no-hitter, limiting Long Beach State to just two walks and a hit batter on March 14, 1980.
Abbott found himself in only four three-ball counts all day, and had only one real scare on a hard hit ball, with Niko Decolati diving forward to steal a potential hit from shortstop Daniel Schneemann with one out in the seventh. While Abbott was flawless, left-hander Hayden Rogers was impressive in his own right for BYU. Rogers dealt a complete game, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 8.0 innings and 89 pitches. The loss dropped him to 1-1 on the year.
LMU found itself in a scoreless ballgame headed to the bottom of the sixth inning, but Phil Caulfield punched a single back up the middle to get the ball rolling. A wild pitch moved Caulfield into second base, setting the table for Niko Decolati's RBI-single into centerfield to make it 1-0.
With Abbott locked in on the mound, LMU added one more insurance run in the eighth inning when Rogers issued a bases-loaded walk to Billy Wilson.
Caulfield and Decolati finished the game with two hits, as Decolati also drew a walk.
Cory Abbott tosses the first perfect game in program history
17