EMERSON, Ga. – Team Kansas City advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 14u Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational as they defeated Team Elite South East 14u Black 7-0. Team Kansas City rode their starting pitcher, Thomas Keehn, to victory as he tossed a complete game shutout. Keehn had a perfect game up until two outs in the top of the seventh when Team Elite struck with a double to left-center. No one on the team knew he was throwing a perfect game as they thought that it was only a no-hitter.

“I actually didn’t know,” said Keehn. “My second baseman told me I was just throwing a no-hitter.”

“Going into a game like today winning was key,” said Team Kansas City pitching coach Andy Shipman. “Throwing strikes, getting ahead, playing clean defense and obviously when you have someone do what (Keehn) did today, it’s special. When you have a chance for a perfect game on the last batter of the game, it’s pretty special.”

Although Keehn didn’t know he was throwing a perfect game, he did understand that his performance was special. He was, understandably, upset when the perfect game was broken up.

“I didn’t see (Team Elite) swing much so I thought I just had to hit my zones,” said Keehn. “The last guy got that hit and I got a little ticked off and decided to pump it in a little bit more.”

Keehn is the No. 1 overall prospect in the state of Maryland for the class of 2019. Keehn was sitting low- to mid-80s with his heavy fastball, and mixed in a curveball and a changeup. He has a three-quarters arm slot and pitches on a downhill plane. The biggest strength for Keehn on the mound today was his ability to throw strikes. He threw only 69 pitches and 78 percent of those were for strikes. He tallied seven strikeouts as compared to to zero walks.

Offensively, Jamir Simpson and Quinton Hall led the way for Team Kansas City. Simpson went 2-for-4 on the day and added two RBI, and Hall went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored. Simpson has been mashing in the tournament as he is hitting .545 with seven RBI and is slugging .909.

Shipman is proud of how his team has come together and played efficiently throughout this tournament. Team Kansas City hasn’t been playing together for long so Shipman was happy to see his team gelling as the tournament goes on.

“I thought that too (Keehn was throwing a no-hitter as opposed to a perfect game) until he started the last inning and I realized no one has been on base,” said Shipman. “It’s a team accomplishment because you have to have no errors. This team hasn’t played a lot together, but it’s nice to see these guys come together so quick and become a tight knit group fast. It’s a great experience for these guys.”

The semifinals for the 14u Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational is now set. The top four seeds advanced in the tournament as No. 4 seed Team Kansas City will be facing the No. 1 seed Roadrunners Baseball, and No. 3 seed Georgia Jackets will be taking on No. 2 seed Elite Gamers RWB.

Roadrunners Baseball defeated the East Cobb Astros earlier today as starting pitcher Patrick Holloman threw a solid game to send the Roadrunners to the semifinals. Dalton Pearson had a two-run single in the first inning to give the Roadrunners a 3-0 lead early on. The Astros were stifled by Holloman for most of the day as they were held scoreless until the sixth inning. The two runs in the top of the sixth were not enough as Derek Radtke came in and shut the door to seal the 3-2 victory.

Elite Gamers RWB pummeled Team Elite Futures 14u by a score of 10-0 in a five inning, run-rule victory. Trippe Moore went the distance for the Gamers as he shutout Team Elite with only 45 pitches. Moore was also the main contributor at the plate as he went 2-for-3 with four RBI and one run scored, and his hits were a double and a triple.

The Georgia Jackets defeated Team Elite Prospects 14u by a score of 7-5. The Jackets’ offense was relentless as they scored in four separate innings. Josh Shuler, Corey Collins and Josh Davis each added two RBI as the 2-3-4 hitters did the heavy lifting for the Jackets at the plate. Travis Hamrick started for the Jackets and he pitched four innings of two-run ball and helped lead the Jackets to the semifinals.

Team Kansas City has not seen the Roadrunners play but they are playing some of the best baseball this tournament and they are confident in their team’s ability to take on any competition.

“We’re going to do a little research and find out about those guys (the Roadrunners),” said Shipman. “But gameplan-wise it’s going to be the same: coming out, play a solid game and I think we have a good chance to get a win.”

Traveling all the way from Kansas City is a tough trek but Team Kansas City was excited to come to this tournament. The players and coaches were blown away by the facilities, the fields and especially the competition.

“It’s an unbelievable event (the Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational),” said Shipman. “This is my first time here and it’s like Disney World. You walk around and see the fields, see the fans and obviously we’re happy to be here at a facility like this.”