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Vaka Throws Perfect Game

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 12, 2008

TAMPA - When he looks back at it, Bayshore Little League's Matt Vaka will be able to say that for about two hours on a baseball diamond, he was perfect.
Vaka retired all 18 Palma Ceia Little League batters he faced on Tuesday night in a 7-0 victory in the District 6 Major All-Star tournament.

After the postgame handshakes, the home plate umpire handed Vaka the ball he threw to get the final out, a strikeout of Charlie Cole on three pitches. Vaka struck out 10, and only one ball left the infield. That was by leadoff batter Stephen Chamblee, who flew out to center. Chamblee was also the only batter who got to a three-ball count.

Thanks to Vaka's control, velocity and location down in the strike zone, his outfielders got the rest of the night off.

"He's just a very special kid," said Bayshore manager Karl Brandes, who also coached Vaka in the regular season. "He lives for games like this, and as the game was unfolding at the end, as it ended, I told my coach who called the pitches, 'He deserves a game like this, he's such a special guy.' He can lift teams on his shoulders and carry them through a tournament."
Vaka did just that last year during the Tapi Rodriguez Tournament of Champions, when, according to Brandes, he carried his team to the final. On Tuesday, Vaka got some help from his infield, in particular shortstop Noah Dyals, who made two key plays in the fourth inning. Dyals caught a sharply hit line drive for the first out, then made a nice play on a ground ball up the middle to record the final out of the inning.

From there, Vaka needed nothing but his catcher, George Peek, as he struck out the final six batters.

Bayshore Little League president Michael Polo was thrilled for Vaka and his team.

"We're very excited," Polo said. "He's a great kid, and he's worked hard and his hard work has come to fruition tonight in a great performance. It means a lot for him to be out there representing Bayshore Little League with such a great performance."

Nichols Heading To Yankee Stadium

Raelynn Nichols, a member of the Florida Fire under-14 softball team, will be on unfamiliar ground Monday.

Nichols will be on the field at Yankee Stadium after winning her way into the 13-14-year-old division of the Pitch, Hit & Run softball skills contest, sponsored by Aquafina.

While the baseball version of Pitch, Hit & Run is in its 13th season, this was the first time softball had been incorporated. Nichols advanced from a local qualifier in Valrico, before winning a super regional at Winter Haven.

Even then, though, it wasn't a given she would go to New York this weekend. But Nichols recorded one of the top three scores in the nation, giving her a chance to compete before the Home Run Derby as part of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game festivities.

Nichols, who is hoping to meet her favorite player, Atlanta's Brian McCann, while at the All-Star Game, said she had started to think about what it would be like in front of a capacity crowd in the Bronx.

"I'm a little shy when I'm in front of a lot of people I don't know," she said.

Nichols will represent the Tampa Bay Rays in New York. She said she is really thankful for the support she got from her teammates at the Fire, including Olivia Cuellar and Jordan Alexander, who also competed in the super regional, and her coaches. One of Nichols' coaches, Mark Braddy, said he expected Nichols to do herself and the team proud in the competition.

"The overall experience is going to be awesome for her," Braddy said. "Knowing Raelynn, playing in front of a crowd like that, I would imagine it will be a spectacle to watch, but the adrenaline rush will allow her to perform better than she has already."

Hamrick Ready To Compete Again For U.S.

Molly Hamrick of Plant High is hoping to pick up another medal when she rows in the U.S. Junior National Team's Varsity 8 boat at the World Junior Rowing Championships this month in Austria.

Hamrick, who won a bronze medal as part of the same boat last year, is excited for the opportunity to race against the fastest boats from the rest of the world.

"I'm so excited," she said by phone from New London, Conn., where the team is working out. "I love racing so much. This is so exciting for me and it really gets my adrenaline pumping."

The team leaves for Linz and Ottensheim, Austria, this week, with the championship beginning July 22. Hamrick is one of nine returning members to the team that competed in Beijing, China, last year.

"What's impressed me about Molly is she is so focused on the task in hand," U.S. coach Steve Hargis said. "It would have been easy for her not to have trained at the level she did, to say, 'Well, I made the team last year, so I'm going to make the team again this year.' As I watched her through the year and having talked about Molly to her coach and the training programs she was in, I think it was clear that to her, it was a brand-new experience. She didn't come in with any assumptions that she was on the team, let alone in the boat, and she just worked at a whole new level."

Hamrick said she took that approach because she didn't want to miss out on the experience of representing her country for a second time.

"It's an awesome opportunity," she said. "I am so excited and so thankful to be here again."

Reporter Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243 or nmurray@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Youth sports for more news, notes and live game stories.

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