
Levi Stoudt pitches in the fifth inning of play against Doylestown Sunday, moments before the game was called due to lightning.
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Levi Stoudt's Twitter homepage says he is searching for one thing: the strike zone. Stoudt dominated the strike zone Sunday night, notching a perfect game for Perkiomen's American Legion baseball team.
"Levi had a special night," manager Mike Fitzgerald said.
He tossed five perfect innings to boost the Indians to a 6-0 victory over visiting Doylestown in the Bux-Mont League at Bonekemper Field.
"I'm happy with what I did," he said. "I would have liked to have gone seven (innings.) But we got a win, so I can't complain."
The team didn't get the chance to celebrate the feat since players, coaches and spectators scattered after the top of the fifth to avoid an impending storm.
Still, Stoudt enjoyed the moment. He said members of the Tigers' coaching staff offered him their congratulations.
"They all came over and shook my hand," Stoudt said. "That felt good."
Throwing just 54 pitches, Stoudt retired 15 consecutive Tigers' hitters. He recorded seven strikeouts, including the side in the top of the first inning.
Stoudt capped his dominance in fifth inning. He retired the side on seven pitches, including a strikeout of Doylestown's Chris Palkovics moments before the umpires stopped the game due to thunder and lightning, to make Post 184's victory official.
Within 15 minutes, amid heavy rain, the game was called. Fitzgerald said he hoped the inclement weather would hold off long enough for his pitcher to work two more innings.
"No one in our dugout wanted the rain to come," the manager said. "I felt like Levi could have accomplished something really special."
Stoudt felt especially confident after striking out the side in the first inning.
"I thought it could only get easier from there," he said.
According to Fitzgerald, the pitcher's impressive fifth-inning performance against the heart of the Tigers' order showed his ultimate dominance.
The manager said that Stoudt changed his approach to Doylestown's aggressive hitters the second time through the lineup, starting them with off-speed pitches.
"Levi made the adjustments," Fitzgerald said. "Their hitters did not."
Post 184's offense supported Stoudt by scoring five runs with two outs to improve to 3-0 in the league (5-1-2 overall).
Four came in the first inning off Tigers pitcher Eric Chase. Tom Aaron delivered an RBI single before Daron Pijanowski followed with a run-scoring double. Josh Fell's two-run hit capped the rally in the first.
Chris Kachmar delivered a pair of two-strike hits, including a triple in the fourth inning, to score Stoudt.
According to Fitzgerald, the Indians focused on adjusting their offensive approach with two outs and two strikes. He said the work they did during batting practice Sunday spilled into the game.
The manager said he made the adjustment after watching his team strand eight runners, including five on third base in a 1-1 tie with visiting Boyertown on May 30.
"We just couldn't come up with the key hit with two outs when we needed it," Fitzgerald said.
Pijanowski finished with a team-high three hits and scored the only run against the Bears in the non-league game that was stopped in the top of the ninth due to lightning.