By JOE McFARLAND

Luke Mahar put an exclamation point on the end of his first-ever perfect game.

The young righthander was dealing, in every sense of the word, when his Parkland Twins took on the Black Gold 47’s on June 9.

Already faced the minimum 20 batters through six and two-thirds innings, the only person standing in Mahar’s way towards history was Kallan Hilhorst.

After delivering a first pitch ball, he got the pitcher-outfielder to chase a pitch down and away for a swinging third strike and a perfect game.

No runs, no hits, no walks and eight strikeouts in the seven-inning 6-0 victory, followed by a celebration by his teammates which looked like they had just won a playoff game.

“I honestly didn’t know I was throwing a perfect game,” Mahar admitted to Alberta Dugout Stories. “I just thought it was a no-hitter.”

It was a 79-pitch performance to remember for a young man hoping to guide his team to a Baseball Alberta Elite League championship.

FILLING UP THE ZONE

Looking back on his perfect game, Mahar says his approach was simple.

“I was just slowing the game down in my head and going up, inning after inning and pitch by pitch, just focused on filling up the strike zone,” he said.

His first inning featured a ground out, fly out and a strikeout, then he struck out two more in the second and another in the third.

Someone who knows a thing or two about pitching watched on from Mahar’s dugout noticed right away that something was special early in the outing.

“Luke did a great job of establishing strike one, which allowed him to expand his game early,” said head coach and former Toronto Blue Jays prospect Shane Dawson. “His sinker was great for him all day, getting him a lot of early contact on the ground.”

Mahar picked up a flyout and two groundouts in the fourth, then two groundouts and a strikeout in the fifth.

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‘THE USUAL’

As the innings were rolling along, the typical superstitions started to settle in around the Twins’ dugout.

Mahar says he noticed the zeroes on the scoreboard but was always trying to joke around with his teammates in between innings.

In his words: “the usual.”

On the mound though, he was all business, picking up two more groundouts and a strikeout in the sixth inning.

The 18-year-old started off the bottom of the seventh by getting Liam Teierle to fly out before getting Connor Christenson to look at a called third strike. Setting the stage for the at-bat against Hilhorst.

After the final pitch, bedlam ensued as Mahar’s teammates sprinted to their hurler to hug and congratulate him.

“They were pumped just like a playoff game,” he said. “It was electric.”

TEAM-FIRST MENTALITY

More importantly, in Mahar’s eyes, is that he helped the team to a triumph which moved them to a record of 14-0 on the BAEL season.

He was also quick to give credit to his teammates, who played a solid game of defense behind him.

“I’m very proud of our team and how connected we have become so far this season,” Mahar said. “It’s amazing to be a part of such a special group – we feel like a family.”

He also gives credit to his family and his coaches, Dawson and former MLB hurler Mike Johnson, who say the perfect game couldn’t have happened to a better young man.

“It was awesome to see how invested everyone was and how bad our team wanted it for Luke,” Dawson said. “Moments like that are truly special in the way they not only bring a team together, but lift an individual up at the same time.”

He adds it’s something every player and coach will remember for a long time.