Monday, April 23, 2001
Ben Orengia struck out 17 of the 21 batters he faced.
ERIE -- Ben Orengia, a senior pitcher at Harbor Creek High School, knows how to impress major league scouts.
With scouts from the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles watching, Orengia tossed a perfect game in a 1-0 victory against Northwestern, striking out 17 of 21.
"I've been the head coach here for nine years and was an assistant and a player here before that. As far as we know, its the only perfect game in the school history," Harbor Creek Coach Tim McQueeney said. "I think the players knew that Ben had a no-hitter, but I'm not sure they were aware it was a perfect game until it was over.
"I'm as superstitious as the next guy and nobody said anything while the game was going on, except our scorekeeper mentioned something to my assistant in the sixth inning."
Hard thrower: Orengia, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound right-hander, was clocked at 93 miles per hour twice during the game.
Orengia is 3-0 with one save, 49 strikeouts and two walks. He is scheduled to pitch again Friday for Harbor Creek, a Class AA school.
"He's not big. But he's like Pedro Martinez with the way he can throw," McQueeney said. A Kent State recruit, Orengia plays shortstop when he's not pitching. He is tied for the team lead with a .571 batting average. Last year, he hit .532 and led Harbor Creek in home runs and RBIs.
"He's signed with Kent, but he's going to wait and see what happens with the draft," McQueeney said. "I'm sure he's going to be picked, it's how high that will decide if he signs or goes to college."
Getting an assist: Cumberland Valley's Adam McLaughlin is headed to the Naval Academy to play football thanks to an assist from Central Dauphin coach George Chaump.