Shades of Kerry Wood
SE Missouri State recruit Wilma strikes out 20 for Tinley Park
Southeast Missouri State recruit Collin Wilma fans 20 for Tinley Park.
There's was nothing about Tinley Park pitcher Collin Wilma's performance in the first inning that suggested history was in the making.
The 6-foot-4 senior righthander allowed two singles, hit a batter and surrendered two runs on March 26 against Haleyville, Ala.
But one thing stood out about that inning— Wilma struck out the side.
Hmm.
Wilma struck out the side again in the second.
In the third, the Southeast Missouri State recruit gave up three singles and another run while striking out two. The final out came on a fly out.
Tinley Park trailed 3-0, and Wilma wasn't happy.
“My attitude was to not allow anymore runs,” he said. “Iwas upset. I had thementality that you're not going to touch me the rest of the game.”
Those words turned prophetic.
Wilma, who pitched a complete game but lost 3-2 to Marian Catholic in his first start of the season, was unhittable the rest of the game.
He struck out the side in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings without allowing a base runner.
He struck out the first two batters in the seventh, making it 11 straight strikeouts before hitting a batter with a pitch.
Wilma then struck out the final batter of the game.
Twenty strikeouts, with nine looking. Holy Kerry Wood. And guess what? Tinley Park rallied for a 6-3 victory.
The last local pitcher to strike out at least 20 batters was Oak Forest's Rick Gorecki on May 14, 1991. He struck out 22 during an eight-inning victory against— you guessed it— Tinley Park.
According to the IHSA, 24 pitchers have produced 21 or more strikeouts in a game.
Wilma said he wasn't aware of his total until afterward.
“No clue,” Wilma said. “My grandfather came up to me after the game and said, ‘You had 20 strikeouts.' I couldn't believe it.”
Neither could Tinley Park coach Josh O'Shea.
“Wewere down 3-0 right off the bat, so Iwas focused more on us trying to win the game,” O'Shea said. “But hewas hitting his spots andwas dominant.”
Wilma (1-1) allowed five hits and hit two batters. He did not give up awalk.
“Iwas in the zone,” he said. “My catcher (Jake Bergquist) put down the sign, and I hit the spot. I only shook him off a few times.”
Wilma's upper-80s fastball, curveball, slider and change-up proved too overpowering.
“I could throw any pitch I wanted as hard as Iwanted and it landed right where Iwanted it to,” Wilma said. “Iwas in the zone.”
Wilma also miraculously remained within the pitch count rules.
He finished with 110, which is five more than what's allotted by the IHSA. The rule states, however, that a pitcher can exceed the limit as long as he is under the maximum pitch count against the final batter he faces.
Wilma was at 103 pitches when he faced his final batter and strikeout victim.
He averaged just 3.9 pitches per batter.
I knowwhat you're thinking. Haleyville couldn't have been very good.
You would be incorrect. They have a 13-5 record.
Wilma's pitching counterpart was senior left-hander Blake Bennett, an Alabama recruit.
Haleyville coach Todd McNutt called Wilma's effort one of the finest he has witnessed.
“Hewas throwing three pitches for a strike and his velocity was really good,” McNutt said.
“Therewere times we missed his slider by 6 inches. A couple of our kids came back to the dugout and said hewas the best they'd seen.”
Wilma has the 20 strikeouts to prove it.