Puyallup’s Hunter Grasser throws perfect game against South Kitsap
Hunter Grasser couldn’t bear to look. South Kitsap’s hitter barreled up the first pitch of the seventh inning, sending a line drive in the direction of Puyallup third baseman Jeremiah Crain. Grasser was three outs away from a perfect game on Monday at Heritage Field in Puyallup.
“That was the most nerve wracking (play),” Grasser said. “I didn’t look. I looked toward our stands.”
In the stands, he saw fans and parents decked out in purple and gold erupt in cheers. Crain had made the catch and recorded the out. Two batters later, a shallow pop fly to the second baseman ended the game, sealing Grasser’s perfect game. While there have been several no-hitters tossed by former Vikings, it’s believed to be the first perfect game in Puyallup baseball history.
“I thought he had some extra life on his fastball,” said longtime Puyallup coach Marc Wiese. “He’s really been working on pitching with more intent. He’s got one of the cleanest deliveries, his mechanics are great. We know there’s more there. He threw some breaking balls. He was burying 0-2 breaking balls, throwing his fastball up in the zone. He’s walked two guys all year. He’s got tremendous command.”
When second baseman Mason Pike recorded the final out, the dogpile was on at the mound.
“I lost my hat,” Grasser said, laughing. “I was happy. I couldn’t really believe it at first. I had a big ol’ smirk on my face. They all attacked me, came in and attacked me at the mound.”
Naturally, nothing was said by Grasser’s teammates or coaches during the game.
“Every time I stepped in the dugout, they quieted up, just gave me knuckles,” Grasser said.
Wiese realized in about the fifth inning that Grasser potentially had something special brewing.
“I wasn’t about to say anything,” Wiese said, laughing. “Nobody said a word. Nobody wanted to jinx it. We had a couple coaches that didn’t know what was going on.”
Grasser, who said he actually wasn’t locating his pitches well during his pregame bullpen session, kept South Kitsap’s hitters guessing with his combination of fastball and curveball.
“First time through the lineup, attacked them with the fastball up and in,” Grasser said. “A couple of their guys, I went away. … The second time through, I’d maybe go backwards and maybe start them out with a curveball. One batter, I went all three curveballs.”
Wiese said he’s excited for Grasser’s potential, which was on full display on Monday.
“I’m really excited about Hunter Grasser on the mound,” Wiese said. “He’s a low-to-mid 80’s righty, has a really good breaking ball and just commands the strike zone. He’s got a bright future.”
And of course, Grasser kept the baseball after the final out.
“It was just pretty cool with the group,” he said. “(Wiese) gave it to me. I just tossed it to my mom. She said she’ll do something with it.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 7:24 PM.
