Untouchable: Sumner’s Jacob Bresnahan strikes out 19 batters in game against Olympia
Sumner High School senior pitcher Jacob Bresnahan thought he might have thrown the game of his life against Curtis last week, striking out 11 Vikings’ batters over five innings of shutout work.
It turns out, that was just a warmup.
On Tuesday against the defending 4A state champion Olympia Bears, Bresnahan tossed a game so dominant, it’s unlikely to ever be touched by a future Sumner pitcher. The lefty’s line: 7 innings pitched, one hit, 19 strikeouts, no walks. Of the 23 batters he faced in the home game, he struck out 19.
“19 is by far a lifetime record,” he said. “I threw good (against Curtis). I just built on it. … I didn’t think it was anything too special. I was just really in the zone, in a good mindset. Kind of just throwing strikes, one after another.”
Bresnahan, a University of Oregon commit, mixed his four-seam fastball, circle changeup and curveball masterfully against a quality Bears’ lineup that simply had no answers.
In a post on Twitter, Sumner coach Casey Adcox wrote, “Just witnessed the greatest performance in my career.”
And is if the pitching performance wasn’t enough, Bresnahan also drove in Sumner’s two runs in the 2-0 win, blasting a home run over the right center field fence on a first pitch fastball from the Olympia pitcher.
“I just kind of figured, I got frozen on a good fastball my last at bat,” he said. “So it was a first-pitch fastball and I barrelled it.”
Bresnahan said the rapport he shares with Sumner catcher Jaxen Mentink played a role in the dominant outing.
“When they say that twins have telepathy, that’s how it felt today,” Bresnahan said. “Every pitch, we both had the same idea. I’m just glad to have a catcher like him. He understands swings, batters and understands how I like to pitch. He did a tremendous job stealing strikes and working back there.”
He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, before the leadoff batter broke it up. Bresnahan’s response? He struck out the final three Bears’ batters to close out the game.
“I was just like dang, he put a good swing on it,” he said. “I was upset but I didn’t let it bother me. Now we just need to win the game, let’s win this game. Winning a game is more important than a no-hitter.”
Bresnahan was quick to credit his Spartans’ teammates, too.
“I definitely couldn’t have stayed in that mindset without all their positive support,” he said. “Perfect game till 5th, no hitter till seventh. My team, they do such a great job bringing positive energy.”
Sumner (13-4) hits the road next to face Emerald Ridge on Thursday at 4 p.m.
This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 9:04 PM.
