The first game got under way with Phil Cruz, the Yellow Jackets’ lead-off hitter, grounding a ball to Estep, who bobbled it and then threw to first base to nip Cruz on a bang-bang play as the perfect game nearly disappeared on the first batter of the game.

From there, though, Curry (left) (3-1) was in control as he retired all 21 batters that he faced to notch the second perfect game and 16th no-hitter in school history. The only previous perfect game came on April 27, 1999, when Andy Heimbach blanked Malone College 2-0 on the Pioneers’ home field.

Curry needed just 90 pitches in the historic performance as he matched his career high with 10 strikeouts for MVNU (10-7, 2-0 AMC). Despite walking 11 batters in 22 previous innings this year, Curry went to a three-ball count on just three batters in the game and all three were 3-2 counts with two of the batters eventually striking out swinging while the other one grounded out.

Curry also helped himself defensively as he successfully fielded two balls back to the mound and tossed to first for outs. He also got a piece of a ground ball back up the middle by Cruz leading off the top of the fourth inning as his glove deflected the ball just enough to senior shortstop Ross Yoder, who fired to first base to record the out on what may have been a base hit without the deflection.

Meanwhile, the MVNU offense took advantage of two errors, three walks, and three wild pitches by Cedarville (7-14, 2-4 AMC) to manufacture seven runs.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Senior outfielder Marc Hadley plated the first run with an RBI-single through the right side. Senior outfielder Garret Shivley also had a run-scoring single and then stole two bases including a straight steal of home to give MVNU a 3-0 lead as he slid in ahead of the throw to the plate.

Shivley added an RBI-triple in the bottom of the fourth inning and later came around to score on an infield single by Yoder as the lead grew to 5-0. Both of those runs were unearned as the result of an error by the Yellow Jackets.

A one-out double by senior third baseman Richey Burgos and a two-out, run-scoring infield single by sophomore catcher Travis McInerney expanded the lead to 6-0, and Shivley closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning when he scampered home on a wild pitch to make it 7-0.

That left just three outs for Curry to record in the top of the seventh inning to close out the perfect game bid. After falling behind 2-0 to Cruz, Curry fired two strikes and then got a ground out to second. Pinch hitter Nate Wilson worked a full count before striking out swinging. Then, Paul Wilson grounded a 2-2 pitch to Yoder at short for the final out to complete the perfect game as Curry was mobbed by his teammates on the mound.

“Levi had good command of his pitches today,” said MVNU head coach Keith Veale. “He attacked the strike zone and went right after the hitters. After struggling a little with his control in his previous three starts this was a great outing. This was a good way to get our conference schedule off to a good start.”

Shivley paced the offense by going 2-for-2 with three runs scored, two stolen bases, and two RBI, while McInerney also added two hits.

T.J. Taylor (1-2) took the loss for Yellow Jackets as he allowed eight hits, three walks, and seven runs (four earned) over five-plus innings with four strikeouts. Nathan Wallace tossed one inning of relief and gave up one hit.

To Cedarville’s credit, the Yellow Jackets bounced right back from the game one defeat by using a lead-off walk, an error, and a single to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the second game. The damage could have been worse for the Cougars, though, but freshman outfielder Steve Williams caught a fly ball and started a 9-4-5 relay to nail a base runner at third base and record an inning-ending double play.

MVNU moved in front 2-1 in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore first baseman Matt Parks plated the first run with a one-out suicide squeeze bunt, and a two-out single by Williams through the left side of the infield gave the Cougars the lead.

A two-out single by Cedarville’s Matt Houchin in the top of the third inning knotted the score at 2-2, but once again the damage could have been worse as the Yellow Jackets recorded two outs on the base-paths with Hadley registering two outfield assists in the inning.

MVNU used two walks, two hit batsmen, and four hits to plate five runs in the bottom of the third as the Cougars regained the lead 7-2. McInerney had an RBI-single, Shivley ripped a two-run triple to right, and Williams added a two-run double to left center.

The score remained that way until the bottom of the fifth inning when MVNU used five hits to score five runs and end the game early due to the 10-run mercy rule. Williams started the scoring with an RBI-double and then came around to score on Yoder’s two-run home run to left center. One out later, Burgos blasted a solo home run to left center. Estep followed with a solo homer of his own down the leftfield line to wrap up the 12-2 victory.

Junior right-hander Jason Decker (3-1) picked up the victory as he scattered eight hits, one walk, and two runs (one earned) over five innings with one strikeout.

Colby Stoltzfus (1-2) started and took the loss for Cedarville as he gave up eight hits, two walks, and seven runs over 2.2 innings. Rob Wasem allowed four hits and three runs over 1.2 innings, and Derek Woloshyn surrendered two solo home runs while recording just one out.

Williams and Burgos both went 3-for-3 with Williams driving in a career-high four runs. Shivley and Estep added two hits apiece with Shivley, Estep, Parks, and Hadley each scoring two runs. Wilson recorded two hits to pace the Yellow Jackets.

“We swung the bat pretty well in the second game,” said Veale. “We talked about how each game mattered and how important it was to go right back to work after the win in the first game. I thought that we responded pretty well.”

“I was also encouraged by the way that Jason bounced back from a tough outing his last time out,” Veale added referring to Decker’s last start in which the MVNU defense allowed 10 unearned runs in an 11-8 loss to Mount Mercy (Iowa) College as Decker lasted just two innings. “He was not overpowering, but he went right after hitters and gave us a chance to win. That’s what you want your pitchers to do.”

The Cougars will look to continue their four-game winning streak on Saturday when MVNU will host an AMC doubleheader with Urbana University that will get under way at 1:00 p.m.