“You’re Out!” Garrett Crowley ’18 Pitches Immaculate Inning in Frontier League

There are few feats in baseball more impressive than an immaculate inning. Statistically rarer than either perfect games or no-hitters, an immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out three batters in one inning with the fewest number of pitches possible. And on August 10, Garrett Crowley ’18, did just that—nine pitches, nine strikes, three outs—for the Evansville Otters, an independent team in the Frontier League. 

To put this in perspective: only about 100 Major League Baseball pitchers have pitched an immaculate inning since 1889. In the moments leading up to this achievement, however, Garrett wasn’t dreaming of joining the ranks of legends like Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan. He wasn’t excited or nervous. He wasn’t even fazed.

“I was so locked in. It probably wouldn’t have happened, to be honest with you, if I was thinking about it,” he mused.

Even after pitching that ninth strike, the gravity of his accomplishment still hadn’t occurred to him: he needed to be told. “I got into the dugout and one of my teammates looked at me and said ‘You know you just threw an immaculate, right?’ I was like, ‘No way!’ and I started jumping up and down like a little kid.

“I was shocked when I first saw the news,” said Todd Mathewson, Canterbury’s Head Coach of Varsity Baseball and Director of Studies. “I texted James Cramphin, [who was] a former assistant coach when Garrett was here … right away. It was a really cool thing to see. It’s just not something that happens very often at any level of baseball, especially at the professional level.”

Rare though it may be, Garrett established himself as a tremendously talented and reliable player in his postgraduate year at Canterbury. Coach Mathewson recalls him as a “phenomenal” impact pitcher, coming through in a number of key games. Garrett’s crowning achievement from this time was winning co-pitcher of the year in the New England Prep School League alongside Salisbury School’s Emmett Sheehan, who currently plays for the L.A. Dodgers.

While justifiably proud of his individual accomplishments, he is quick to praise the efforts of his fellow Saints.

“It was a good team we had,” he said. “We had a few other guys who were committed to Division I schools. The coaching staff—Todd Mathewson and James Cramphin— I always just felt Canterbury had a good atmosphere.”

Garrett committed to Fordham University, where he played for three years. After a great summer season in the Cape Cod League playing for the Chatham Anglers, he transferred to Texas Tech, a Big 12 school. While there, he suffered a difficult back injury that took time, energy, and patience to heal from. But despite his challenges, he has had a successful season in the Frontier League this year, playing for the Quebec Capitales before being traded to the Otters.

“I put together a really good season so far,” he said. “The last 18 hitters I faced I’ve retired.”

Soon, he’ll be heading to the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League as they pursue a playoff push, and he feels good about what’s to come.

“It’s been a [tough] road, fighting for my dream these past two years,” he shared. “I feel like I’m in a place now where I’m almost capturing that dream.”