Baseball: James Kaprielian’s curveball was unhittable

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Wicked, filthy and unhittable. Those were my impressions of James Kaprielian’s curveball on Tuesday against Irvine University.

The Trojans had no chance of hitting him from start to finish. And they didn’t. He retired the first 18 batters in order and finished with a no-hitter in leading Irvine Beckman to a 6-0 victory in a game for first place in the Pacific Coast League.

The only baserunner was Mako Allbee, who reached on a error to start the seventh inning. He hit a ground ball to the left of third baseman Zack Rivera. It went off his glove. That was the extent of University’s offense.

Kaprielian, who improved to 8-0, struck out nine. It was a complete masterpiece. It was his second no-hitter of the season. He also has a one-hitter. His fastball was clocked at 89 mph. He has signed with UCLA.

I’ve seen lots of top pitching performances this season, but moving to No. 1 on the list was Kaprielian’s. If you don’t believe how tough his breaking pitch was, take a look at the video. If there are any volunteers to try to hit that pitch, please call Coach Kevin Lavalle.

Beckman is 9-3 in league. University drops to 8-4.

-- Eric Sondheimer