Tharptown’s Fretwell tosses perfect game in 11-0 win over Phillips

In the Tharptown High School varsity baseball team’s shutout win at Phillips on Tuesday night, Wildcat sophomore Christopher Fretwell accomplished a feat few baseball players are able to pull off.

Through the full five innings played, Fretwell tossed a perfect game, achieved by pitchers who do not allow a baserunner—no hits, no walks, and no errors allowed—for the entire game.

“It was great to watch him compete (Tuesday) night,” Tharptown head coach Lucas Craft said. “He competed his tail off on every single pitch. For that to be his second time pitching in a varsity game, it was definitely one he will never forget.”

Tharptown jumped up on Phillips early and gave Fretwell, who batted leadoff for the Wildcats and finished with a walk and a run scored, a 2-0 cushion as he hit the mound for the first time in the bottom of the first. Fretwell start on the bump was a propitious one as he struck out the first three batters he faced in the home half.

Offensively, the Wildcats continuously added to their advantage each inning. THS plated one run in second, added three more runs in the third and fourth innings to make it 9-0, and then tacked on two more runs in the fifth to give them an 11-0 lead. The 10-run margin at the end of five innings was enough to end the game early.

Fretwell ultimately struck out 11 of the 15 Phillips batters he faced. Of the 65 pitches he threw, 45 of them were strikes.

A couple of times in the game it looked like Fretwell might allow a walk, but the sophomore showed his mettle and always battled back to get the out. One example: With one away in the bottom of the fifth inning, Fretwell threw three straight balls to start the at-bat, but three pitches later he was recording his 10th strikeout.

In his only other start early in this campaign, Fretwell recorded the win in Tharptown’s 6-4 victory over Colbert County. In that contest he threw five innings, allowing four runs off seven hits while striking out eight batters. Fretwell holds a 2.80 ERA after two starts and has 22 strikeouts to three walks.

While Fretwell dealt on the mound, his teammates were putting in the necessary work in the field behind him.

“Our team played great defense,” Craft said. “Melvin Gutierrez caught for us and did a fantastic job. Infield and outfield played great and the made routine plays that we talk about everyday in practice.”

The Wildcats also took care of business with their bats. Tharptown finished with five hits against Phillips, but also showed great plate discipline by drawing nine walks in the game. Four different players finished with RBIs and catcher Melvin Gutierrez came around to score three runs for the Wildcats.

The result improved Tharptown’s overall record to 3-3. The Wildcats’ next game is Thursday, March 5 against Colbert County.