This isn't the first time Lawrence Academy's Tyler Beede has pitched in front of nearly 40 major league scouts this season, and it's certainly not the first time they came away mighty impressed.
But in a season of fulfilling a mountain of hype, the Auburn native and Vanderbilt-bound righthander continues finding ways to up the ante. Today, that was tossing a perfect game in front of more than three dozen MLB scouts and several general managers, as the Spartans downed Brooks, 9-0, to improve to 12-2 on the season.
For the game, the potential first-round draft choice struck out 15 batters on 82 pitches, walked none and allowed no hits. His last pitch of the game -- a swinging strikeout -- hit 93 miles per hour, and he topped out at 95 for the day. He also went 2 for 3 at the plate to help the winning cause.
His catcher, junior Kevin Wnukowski, was the first one to greet him on the mound, followed by the rest of his teammates in mob fashion. And as usual, Beede politely deferred to his teammates about the effort.
"The whole team surrounded me on the mound. It was a good feeling when it hit me," Beede said. "I knew in the sixth or seventh that I had something going. But it was just a fun time out there, and fun to celebrate with the team. This whole season has been real fun."
Meanwhile down the road, his Vanderbilt teammate-to-be Adam Ravenelle put in a season-best performance on the hill for Lincoln-Sudbury. The 6-foot-4 senior righty struck out 18 in a complete-game one-hitter, losing his perfect game in the sixth inning, and belted two homers from the plate to lead the Warriors to a 13-0 win over Arlington.