Richland Northeast shortstop pitches perfect game (+ video)

Perfect games in baseball are rare, regardless of level of play or circumstances. So when you find yourself in the middle of one, the best thing to do is try to keep it out of your mind.

That’s exactly what Richland Northeast pitcher Jake Mueller did when he found himself in the rarest of rare situations in a recent game against Dreher. The senior right-hander realized around the fourth inning that the Blue Devils had yet to have a base-runner. After getting out of that frame, he needed nine more outs, so he just tried to keep the same routine.

It worked. Mueller capped the 70-pitch, eight-strikeout perfect game by striking out the side in the seventh inning to give him a memory that will last a lifetime.

“I didn’t isolate from the game, but we also didn’t talk about it in the dugout,” Mueller said. “Anytime someone brought it up, my teammates shut them down right away. It was pretty exciting. Pitching is my secondary thing, so it was definitely different. I’m not used to being on the mound very much. When I realized what was going on, I knew it was something that doesn’t happen too often. It was a lot of fun to be a part of.”

There were a couple of outstanding defensive plays that kept the perfect game intact. Mueller faced one 3-ball count and that came in the fifth inning. He said he was having trouble finding the strike zone at that point but got the Dreher hitter to chase a 3-1 pitch that was lofted into short left field. The ball was near the line and it could have been fair or foul, but it didn’t matter when left-fielder Nick Gelting came running in to make a diving catch.

The second defensive save came in the seventh. Mueller struck out the lead-off batter with a pitch in the dirt that bounded away from catcher Shannon Glover. He was able to hustle down the first base side of the diamond to retrieve it and throw a perfect strike to first base to get the runner by a step.

“Those two plays really stuck in my mind,” Mueller said. “Nick Gelting makes that huge, diving catch to get me out of that at-bat. Then I thought it was lost on the lead-off guy in the seventh but Shannon Glover gets it and throws a perfect strike rocket to first base.”

The fact that Mueller isn’t the Cavalierss top pitcher makes the feat that much more incredible. He is 3-2 with one save and a 1.68 ERA.

“It’s just something I mess around with,” Mueller said.

Mueller has made a name for himself with his glove and bat. He has been the Richland Northeast regular shortstop since the eighth grade and has another stat that matches, or even surpasses, the perfect game on the wow factor. In more than 150 high school games, Mueller has committed just six errors.

That type of glove work got the attention of college coaches early and his hitting has continued to improve. He’s hitting .404 this season with a .547 on base percentage. He has six doubles, a triple, a home run and 11 stolen bases.

He has committed to Wake Forest, so he wants to finish his final prep season strong.

“Plain and simple, Wake Forest was the perfect fit for me,” Mueller said. “They have great coaches and I just fell in love with the program and campus. But before I worry about that, hopefully, we can make a run in the playoffs. I think we have the team that could get it done.”

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Richland Northeast shortstop pitches perfect game (+ video)."