LaBruyere fires gem at ND

It would have been hard to imagine Central sophomore pitcher Brad LaBruyere could have pitched much better than he did against Jackson in a 13-strikeout, 1-0 loss March 29.

A week later, LaBruyere did just that, throwing a no-hitter in a 2-0 home victory against Notre Dame on Tuesday.

LaBruyere struck out nine and walked three in seven innings of work. Of the 24 batters he faced, LaBruyere started 11 off with 0-2 counts.

"There haven't been a lot of no-hitters in Cape Central baseball history," Tigers coach Steve Williams said. "It's not like it happens all the time for anybody."

It was the first no-hitter in LaBruyere's brief varsity career. LaBruyere has been almost unhittable this season, allowing just three earned runs in 26 innings (0.81 ERA). He has struck out 37 and improved his pitching record to 3-1, as Central improved to 4-6 overall.

"I'm throwing my curveball a lot better than I used to. I'm getting ahead more," LaBruyere said. "I'm just not afraid to throw strikes right now."

Notre Dame (3-4) had single baserunners in the first, third and fourth innings -- all on walks. The Bulldogs' best hitting inning came in the sixth, when Blake Essner and Shane Menz were robbed on back-to-back diving plays by Central.

Essner lined a pitch into the left-center field gap with one out, only to have left fielder Matt Hester sprawl out for a diving catch. Menz, the next batter, hit a line shot that first basemen Brandon Cooper stabbed.

"We finally put something together in the sixth inning, but their defense stepped up and made some plays," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said.

Central managed just four hits, but the Tigers were able to get the timely hits which had eluded them at times this season. After a one-out walk to Cooper in the fourth, Tony Leuckel banged a double to score Cooper.

LaBruyere helped his own cause with an RBI bunt single in the sixth to score Cooper, who had led off the inning with a double. Tyler Bruce had the other hit for Central.

"Brad was great, and we scratched across a couple of runs when we needed to," Williams said.

In the seventh, LaBruyere retired the first two batters on harmless popouts, then struck out the final hitter looking to finish the no-hitter.

"Honestly, in the seventh inning, I didn't realize until the first out," LaBruyere said. "I looked at the scoreboard and saw the zeros across. Pretty much everyone knew except me."

Lost in LaBruyere's mastery was the performance by Notre Dame starter Kirk Boeller, who allowed just one hit and one run in 4 1/3 innings. A pair of walks in the fifth inning signaled the end of Boeller's day. Jeremy Brinkmeyer pitched the final 1 2/3 innings.

"I'm tickled to death," Graviett said. "Our pitchers really did a good job."

The Tigers were fortunate to be able to play at home at all after having the outfield fence torn off during a storm last Wednesday. Several volunteers were able to get the fence repaired just in time for Tuesday's game.

"It sure helps to play at home," Williams said.

Notre Dame will be back in action today when it hosts Dexter. Central will play a doubleheader Saturday against Francis Howell, ranked No. 3 in the Class 4 rankings by the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association.

Williams said Tuesday's win should give the team a boost heading into this weekend.

"Any time you play well and win," he said, "it should give you momentum."

CENTRAL 2, NOTRE DAME 0

Notre Dame 000 000 0 -- 0 0 2

Central 000 101 X -- 2 4 0

WP -- Brad LaBruyere, 3-1. LP -- Kirk Boeller. 2B -- Tony Leuckel (C), Brandon Cooper (C). Records -- Central 4-6, Notre Dame 3-4.