Naughton pitches perfect game for Chaminade

Here's an extended version of the brief write-up we had on Chaminade's Robert Naughton's perfect game against St. Dominc:

Chaminade senior pitcher Robert Naughton won two games on Friday, and one of them was perfect.

Naughton pitched the first perfect game in Chaminade’s 86-year history, according to assistant coach Shaun Manning, in a 6-0 win over St. Dominic in CHSAA. The perfect game immediately followed the continuation and completion of a Chaminade-St. Dominic game from April 18, in which Naughton pitched one inning of relief to earn the win in a 5-4 decision.

“I gave up one hit in that first game so I didn’t even realize I had a perfect game until the fourth inning,” Naughton said. “I started going all out after that and once I got it I screamed and it was insane. All my friends sprinted form the dugout and jumped on top of me. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

In his perfect game, Naughton used just 73 pitches and struck out 11, including seven of the last nine batters he faced.

“My curveball was working best today and I mixed it up with a two-seam [fastball] that was moving well too,” Naughton said. “Especially later in the game I realized they couldn’t make contact [with the curveball] and that’s how I got all those strikeouts in the end.”

Naughton only allowed three fly-ball outs, and had his bid for perfection threatened just once—a second-inning line drive to short that Terrence Connelly caught on a backhanded dive.

“[Connelly] misses that and it’s nothing,” Naughton said. “After the game I gave him a great hug and said ‘I love you man.’”