Hills East’s Patch Dooley strikes out 20

Patch Dooley struck out 20 batters in a one-hitter Wednesday, leading Half Hollow Hills East to a 9-0 win over Riverhead in Suffolk III baseball.

Dooley, who allowed one walk and hit a batter, lost his no-hitter on a sixth-inning bloop single and got the game-ending out on a grounder back to the mound.

“It was just utter domination,” coach Tim Belz said. “It was awesome.”

Dooley, a junior, threw 106 pitches, 75 for strikes. His fastball sat in the mid-80s.

“It was right there,” Belz said. “It was curveball for a strike, fastball for a strike. It was overpowering.”

Dooley, who has struck out 38 batters in 16 2/3 ⅔innings this year, said he was aware of his mounting strikeout total as the game progressed. As he entered the seventh inning with 18 strikeouts, he wanted to finish with all outs by “K”.

“When I caught the [comebacker] I was a little disappointed,” Dooley said, “but I knew I had to get the last out to get the win.”