Kofmehl Gem Polishes Off Notre Dame

It is no exaggeration to describe pitcher Clint Kofmehl of Crespi High as close to unhittable this week against Notre Dame.

On Tuesday, he pitched 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief. On Friday, he retired the first 17 batters and had a no-hitter with one out in the seventh. He finished with a two-hitter and 10 strikeouts in Crespi’s 5-0 Mission League victory over the Knights.

In 14 years as Crespi coach, Scott Muckey has mentored the likes of Jeff Suppan, Keith Evans, Tim Leveque and Brian Felten. Not even Suppan’s 1993 no-hitter could top Kofmehl’s performance Friday.

“I’d have to say that was the best we’ve had,” Muckey said.

Coach Tom Dill of Notre Dame agreed.

“I don’t see how you throw better,” Dill said. “He was ahead of every batter. He was in command. He didn’t give us a chance.”

Kofmehl, a 6-foot-2 senior right-hander whose godfather is Tom Lasorda, the former Dodger manager, kept throwing an unhittable slider low and outside against right-handed batters.

His 85-mph fastball wasn’t too shabby, either.

“Every time a pitcher has everything going, it feels good,” he said. “This is what I’m all about. I’ve always been this way.”

Except no one has really noticed until now. Last year, Kofmehl was behind two college-bound pitchers, Leveque and Michael Jackson.

But he was 10-1 on the junior varsity as a sophomore.

“The dramatic change between last year and this year is his control,” Muckey said. “Last year he was behind in the count and didn’t throw as hard. This year, he’s better at everything.”

In 26 2/3 innings, Kofmehl (3-0) has allowed only two earned runs for an 0.53 earned-run average.

He had a perfect game against the Knights until walking Steve Moss on a 3-and-2 pitch with two out in the sixth. Brendan Ryan broke up the no-hitter with a one-out single to left in the seventh. Chris Dickerson followed with a single to right. But those were the only two balls hit hard.

Of the 21 outs, 10 were strikeouts, 10 were ground balls and one was a fly ball.

Crespi players recognized Kofmehl was working on a perfect game and no-hitter and tried not to jinx him.

“I knew what was going on but I didn’t say anything,” catcher Matt Wilson said. “I heard a couple guys in the dugout talking about it.”

The Celts (9-0-1, 5-0-1 in league play), ranked No. 2 in the region by The Times, have opened a 1 1/2-game lead over the Knights (6-5, 4-2).

They collected eight hits and scored four runs in the second inning, keyed by a two-run triple from sophomore Armando Contreras and a two-run home run from senior Marshall Plouffe.

Crespi will get the chance to complete a memorable week today when it faces top-ranked Westlake in an 11 a.m. nonleague game at Valley College.

Kofmehl won’t pitch. He’s earned a day off.