California Buzzards’ LUMAR GOSS was one of the rare pitchers who performed double-duty at the NAFA A-Major World Series. The right-handed pitching and hitting Goss, won three games (3-1) and he hit for a healthy .389 average (7-for-18), with 9 RBI. Of his seven hits, five were extra bases: a home run, triple and three doubles. Photo By BOB OTTO / 2017 NAFA World Series
FARGO – It’s the unrealized dream for the vast majority of fastpitch pitchers who have ever played the game. But for Tom Haver the dream came true Saturday, Aug. 12.
Haver pitched a seven-inning perfect game, in setting down 21 Stoneyard (Wisc.) batters, 10 by strikeout, in leading Northern Merchants Fastpitch of New York to a 1-0 victory in the the NAFA A-Major World Series, in which the Merchants placed fifth in the 30-team field.
The Merchants scored in the bottom of the second when Jeff Carr led off with a single, reached second base on BJ Gauger’s bunt. That brought Bryan Ingalls to the plate.
And Ingalls pushed a bunt past third base to send Carr racing home from second with the winning run.
Then it was all Haver.
“I’ve been catching him a long time and we’ve had some great games together,†said Ingalls, Northern’s catcher. “I just call the pitches and he throws them. This game he was great and it was even better being a 1-0 game.â€
But, of course, Haver’s teammates helped make the perfecto happen. Tom Avery most of all. At the very start of the game, the left-fielder made a sliding catch to rob leadoff batter Chad Goytowski of a base hit.
After that, the defense stepped up and made all the routine plays behind Haver, who’s command was sharp, and his rise, rise-curve and change-up extra special on this most perfect of days.
Pitcher TOM HAVER, left, and catcher BRIAN INGALLS teamed up to produce a perfect game for the right-handed Haver, who faced the minimum 21 batters in seven innings, striking out 10, to help the New York Northern Merchants defeat Stoneyard of Wisconsin, 1-0, in the 2017 NAFA A-Major World Series. Courtesy Photo
“It was one of those games where everything was moving and he was hitting his spots,†Ingalls said.
For Haver, 39, a New York state trooper, his victory was no fluke. The right-hander was one of the top hurlers in the A-Major. He finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, hurling 24 innings and striking out 27 batters with a 1.75 ERA.
A-MAJOR TOP HURLERS- 1. Julian Fernandez, Bowen Fastpitch, 5-0, 28 innings, 42 strikeouts, 1.75 ERA
- 2. Bryan Lathrop, Stoneyard, 3-1, 34 innings, 46 strikeouts, 1.65 ERA
- 3. Brandon Peck, Fleetwood, 3-1, 23 innings, 33 strikeouts, 0.30 ERA
- Lumar Goss, California Buzzards, 3-1, 15.2 innings, 19 strikeouts, 5.36 ERA
- Dave Stokes, Elanco, 3-2, 34 innings, 29 strikeouts, 4.12 ERA
*** minimum three wins ***
