For Gaithersburg pitcher Kevin Brady, the numbers are staggering — 43 innings, 12 hits, five walks, 85 strikeouts and three earned runs. The junior has twirled a perfect game and three no-hitters, has an ERA of 0.50, and — perhaps only fantasy baseball devotees can appreciate this — a WHIP of 0.39.
So after shutting out Seneca Valley on three hits recently, Brady was asked the inevitable: “What’s wrong?”
Nobody posed the question Tuesday after Brady pitched a four-hitter with 16 strikeouts, powering Gaithersburg past perennial Montgomery County power Quince Orchard, 3-2.
Brady whiffed the first five batters he faced and was working on a perfect game with one out in the fifth inning when QO (10-5) finally got a runner on base. Appropriately, it happened when Brady fanned Anthony Howard, who scooted to first as the ball got past the Gaithersburg catcher.
“He’s the toughest, fastest guy I’ve faced,” said QO catcher Andrew Foncannon, twice a strikeout victim. “He’s the best pitcher in the county, probably the state.”
Brady (6-0) looked every bit that until the sixth inning when he surrendered three hits and a pair of runs. QO center fielder Kevin Johnson sat on a first pitch fastball, drilling it high and deep to left-center for a triple, scoring first baseman Mike Milner, who had reached on a solid single to left, the Cougars’ first hit. Johnson later scored on a single by shortstop Kyle Judson.
QO’s success in the sixth came on a warm afternoon and after Brady threw 22 pitches the previous inning.
“I was starting to get a little tired,” said Brady. “They came to fight and we came to fight. My defense really helped me out.”
But Brady did it himself in the seventh inning, After designated hitter Joey Barkanic blasted a one-out double to left-center, Brady whiffed Foncannon and froze Milner with his 112th pitch of the game, a curve that grazed the outside corner for strike three.
Gaithersburg (10-5) was energized offensively by shortstop Tim Riley, who had two hits, stole a base and scored twice. Second baseman Kory Smigocki and third baseman Chad Palman added RBI hits.
But the day belonged to Brady, who mixed his fastball, which tops out at 90 mph, with a biting curve and occasional changeup. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-hander is improved from last year when he went 3-2.
“He’s done it with a lot of hard work,” said Gaithersburg coach Jason Woodward. “My hat’s off to (pitching) coach (John) Rutherford with what he’s done this year, and to [personal trainer] Jason Philbin with what he’s done with Kevin, strength-wise and conditioning.”
BRADY BALL
» Brady’s brother, Matt, is a catcher at California (Pa.).
» Brady’s father was an infielder at Southern Illinois University.
» Brady also is hitting .424, leading Gaithersburg in doubles (six), triples (two), and RBI (17).
