MARIETTA, Ga. - Lids Indiana Bulls pitcher Bryan Hoeing gave his defense the day off in their 10-2 win against the Delaware Diamonds, striking out 14 hitters in six innings of work.
To say Hoeing was impressive would be an understatement. He was unhittable. Unsolvable. Untouchable.
Hoeing mixed his pitch arsenal well, keeping hitters off-balance the entire game. His fastball, which touched 92 mph, was rarely even nicked by a bat.
“He’s got a lot of movement on his fastball (and) a lot of movement on his off-speed pitches,” said Bulls coach Sean Laird. “He’s one of a kind, for sure.”
It was a site to see at Forsyth Central High School. Hoeing collected all three outs in the second inning with K’s, struck out the side in order the following inning, and sent down the side in the fifth inning as well.
He sent six strikeout victims back to the dugout looking at strike three. He threw his curveball inside and outside to hitters, resulting in numerous whiffs.
“I was hitting my spots. I was feeling good,” said Hoeing. “My off-speed was working today and Bailey (Partlow) was catching ‘em well, so that helped out a lot.”
“My approach on the mound is to get ahead of hitters and with two strike have them guessing what I’m gonna pitch and then hopefully just get ‘em out.”
Hoeing, who said he wanted to capture the attention from college scouts all over, did just that in his latest outing in which he only surrendered two hits and two walks in the win.
For a full six innings scouts’ radar guns were popping up from behind home plate every time Hoeing began his windup. Scouts were busy the entire game, frantically taking notes on the incredible outing by the 2015 kid from Batesville, Indiana.
“It was unbelievable,” Laird said of Hoeing’s outing. “In my opinion, he’s already a college pitcher.”
“Bryan did awesome on the mound. I think he had a no-hitter through four or five (innings),” catcher Bailey Partlow said. “He did really well, got ahead of hitters, and just blew it by ‘em.”
Hoeing did, indeed, throw five no-hit innings until he was touched for a ground ball single with one out in the top of the sixth. Partlow enjoys being behind the plate to catch the 6-foot-6 flamethrower.
“Catching Bryan is honestly my favorite thing in the world,” Partlow said. “He throws hard. He hits his spots and he always competes on the mound.”
Partlow had a big day at the plate for the Lids Indiana Bulls Black, going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI. This is Partlow’s second time playing the Perfect Game’s WWBA National Championship. He played with the 15u team last year.
Partlow had four of the team’s 10 RBI. Grant Sloan collected three RBI, including a 2-RBI line drive double down the left field line in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“Today they went after it,” Laird said, reflecting on his team’s offensive improvements. “Momentum always starts in the first inning, so (Hoeing) did a great job getting us up and the guys followed with the bat.”
“I thought we all played as a team, hitting the ball well,” Hoeing said. “(We) got a good win against a good team.”
These Lids Indiana Bulls Black players function well as a team, and their relationship continues off the baseball diamond as well.
“I love being around them,” Hoeing said about his teammates.
“We’re full of great guys,” Partlow added. “We’re great friends. The organization’s awesome.”
The Lids Indiana Bulls organization has been around since 1991 and has sent a countless number of players to the collegiate and professional levels of baseball. They are an organization loaded with only the best talent Indiana has to offer.
Since their inception, they have won numerous tournament championships. Most recently, the 15u team came in second for the 15u WWBA National Championship and TJ Collett took home the tournament MVP trophy.
“We’ve got a lot of great coaches that know that we’re here for the players -- to make them better, progress them in any way possible, and obviously get them seen by college scouts as well as professional scouts,” Laird said. “For the players, they’ve done a great job. They understand the game, what we’re trying to do here, the team philosophy, (and) also understand they make each other better.”
“We have so many kids going to the collegiate level and professional and it’s just a well-respected organization throughout the nation,” Partlow commented.
Hoeing put it best, saying, “Indiana Bulls organization has always been an organization with a lot of history and I wouldn’t wanna play with anyone else besides these guys.”