JUPITER, Fla. -- Chris Diaz did not know it was a perfect game. Neither did Sam Abrams, but Montana Durapau knew the White Sox Scout Team/Florida Legends were pitching a perfect game while he was warming up in the bullpen before the seventh and final inning Friday morning at the BBWA World Championship.
"Yeah, I knew," said Durapau. "I was thinking about it."
Diaz, a junior at Gulliver Prep in Florida City, Fla., pitched the first three innings Friday against College Select, and it was nine up and nine down. Abrams, a senior at the Killian School in Miami, pitched the next three innings, and again it was nine up and nine down.
The White Sox Scout Team had a 6-0 lead after six innings. They gave the ball to Durapau (2010, Deltona, Fla.) for the final three outs for the victory, but only a few people in the stadium were aware that a perfect game was happening.
Pressure?
"A little bit," said Durapau. "I didn't have much time to warm up in the bullpen, so I kind of just stuck with my fastball in the last inning."
He got the first batter on a grounder to first base. He fanned the second hitter with a called third strike, but the next batter hit a chopper over Durapau's head that had the potential to be an infield single. It turned into a fairly routine out and the White Sox had their perfect game.
"We've got good defense, so I wasn't too worried," said Durapau.
Twenty-one up and 21 down. No hits, no walks, no errors. It was a perfect game, in a tournament being run by Perfect Game USA.
"It feels pretty good," said Durapau.
Diaz struck out five batters during the first three innings, but had no clue that he'd pitched the first three frames of a perfect game. "No idea," he said. "It feels good."
Abrams fanned three during his three innings, but also left without a clue about the looming perfection. He's glad he didn't know.
"Yeah, probably," he said. "I didn't have time to think about it."
Now they do.