As the innings went on, fewer teammates conversed with Los Gatos High School pitcher Ethan Williams. After all, he was working on a perfect game.
“I knew it,” he said.
Williams first started to notice feeling a bit different in the top of the sixth inning. His heart rate had ticked up ever so slightly, but the senior right-hander embraced the moment.
“It’s good for it to be like that, but I don’t need it to be more than it has to be,” Williams said. “Controlling my breath and knowing it’s playing the game one pitch at a time and executing rather than thinking about what’s going on later in the game is the biggest thing (for success).”
Williams didn’t get the perfect game but did finish with a no-hitter, striking out a career-high 16 to lead the Wildcats to an 8-0 win over Santa Clara in a SCVAL De Anza Division contest on April 17. A day later, Los Gatos swept the two-game set with the Bruins, rolling to a 16-1 victory. The pair of victories improved the Wildcats’ record to 16-2 overall and 9-0 in league.
They are 2 ½ games ahead of Palo Alto in the standings, a team they’ve already beaten twice earlier this season. Translation: barring unforeseen circumstances, Los Gatos is well on its way to winning its fourth consecutive De Anza Division championship.
“Every year I fall in love with teams for different reasons,” Wildcats coach Mike Minkel said. “This team is special because they love the challenge, and they love me putting them through the ringer. It’s a real treat to be a part of this. Great group, great attitudes, great energy in the dugout. I love everything about them, I really do. They’re just a bunch of lovable guys.”
Williams overwhelmed Santa Clara in the teams’ first matchup. Relying mostly on his fastball, Williams faced just one batter over the minimum in a dazzling 86-pitch gem. Williams’ perfect game was foiled when he threw an up-and-in fastball that grazed the elbow of Kyle Yumul leading off the top of the seventh inning. Williams responded by retiring the next three batters and settled for a no-hitter, prompting his teammates to rush the mound and congratulate him for a job well done.
“We’ve known Ethan was special since his sophomore year,” Minkel said. “The way he goes about his business, being an absolute professional in his craft, and the diligence and the work he puts in is just tremendous. Everybody gets to see game time and what it looks like. But they don’t get to see the amount of work he puts in, how dedicated he is and what he’s doing in his off time and practice time to essentially prepare for these efforts. It’s truly a pleasure to watch and be a part of this.”
The Bruins’ best opportunity for a hit came in the top of the fifth, when a groundball was hit in the hole. Shortstop Beau Musser fielded the ball cleanly on his backhand and in one motion threw off his back foot to first baseman Max Thomas, who leaped, caught the ball and came down and tagged the Santa Clara baserunner to preserve the no-hitter.
“Beau is a special player in his own right,” Minkel said.
Relying on a steady diet of fastballs, Williams made it look easy, overpowering the Santa Clara lineup in producing his first no-hitter since his freshman year when he was on the junior varsity team.
“I just wanted to get ahead in the count and was throwing up the zone more than anything else,” Williams said. “With the game plan, nothing too different than a normal game.”
Brady Simon smacked an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fourth, highlighting the Wildcats’ 11-hit attack. Simon, Chase Frolich and Sully Roberts had two RBIs each. Simon was an offensive tour de force in the second game against the Bruins, finishing 3-for-4 with four runs scored. Frolich also had a monster game, going 2-for-3 with a game-high four RBIs.
Nicky Gangemi, Jackson Fitzpatrick and Thomas drove in two runs apiece. Chase Oberthier, Nolan Jones and Gavin Seiler combined to allow just seven hits and one run as the Wildcats received another stellar performance from their pitching corps.
Williams loves the dynamic of this year’s team.
“We like to have fun, we like to keep it light, but everyone’s going to do their job on a given day,” Williams said. “We come to the field everyday and pretty much get to work. Winning is fun, but it takes a lot of work.”
In a recent two week stretch, Los Gatos overcame a variety of challenges playing tournaments in Sacramento and Tennessee. Every time the players faced a situation which could’ve drawn frustration, they responded well.
“Zero complaints, none,” Minkel said. “Whether it’s shuttling back and forth for over a 1,000 miles over three days to the Boras (Classic in Sacramento) or going out to Tennessee and taking a redeye flight, not getting any sleep and going immediately to a field and practicing, these guys love every bit of it. These guys don’t let these things bother them, and it makes it that much more enjoyable to be a part of.”
In addition to Williams’ professionalism, Minkel appreciates his stoicism on the mound.
“It doesn’t matter if he throws a no-hitter or gives up five runs, his demeanor stays the same,” Minkel said. “His work ethic remains the same, everything stays the same, he’s a true professional at his craft and it is really fun to watch and play behind him.”
