Tyler Forristall, Princeton master Mendota

PRINCETON – Princeton's Tyler Forristall was unhittable for most of the game Monday at Prather Field against Mendota.

The junior southpaw took a perfect game into the fifth inning, a no-hitter into the sixth and shutout into the seventh.

He made good on a two-hitter to gain a 6-2 victory in Three Rivers East play.

“Off-speed was working pretty well tonight. Fastball. I was locating really well,” Forristall said, “and the defense behind me was amazing. Two really good plays by [third baseman] Nolan [Kloepping].

“It was amazing all around.”

Forristall was dealing early, striking out six straight from the first inning to the first batter in the third inning.

The Trojans didn’t get their first base runner until Evan McPheeters drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and were held hitless until Braden Freeman hit a two-out triple in the sixth.

Forristall acknowledged he was aware of having a no-hitter but kept it in the back of his head.

“I didn’t want to think about it too much. Definitely a thought for sure,” Forristall said. “Baseball’s all a mental game.”

Tigers coach Wick Warren said Forristall was locked in from the start.

“Tyler pitched a real good game. He was in full control and located well,” he said. “Jumping on them in the first inning getting runs always helps. Real pleased how the kids played today.”

While Forristall was keeping the Trojans’ bats silent, the Tigers brought their hitting shoes. They collected 11 hits on the day, led by a 3-for-3 day by leadoff man Ace Christiansen, who had two doubles, and two-hit games by cleanup man Will Lott and Noah LaPorte.

Christiansen led off the first with a double and scored on a Mendota error.

Kloepping, who sparkled in the field at third base, stroked a two-run single in the second to put the Tigers up 3-0.

The Tigers had three doubles in the fifth, including a two-run two-bagger by Christiansen and back-to-back by Jace Stuckey and LaPorte. Christiansen added a two-out, RBI hit in the sixth to make it 6-0.

Forristall appreciated the support.

“All around, everybody was just hitting the ball. It was amazing,” he said. “Ace, I think he got on every single at-bat. Multiple people with extra-base hits. It’s just great to see.

“We beat Sherrard [12-6] on Saturday. We’re on a roll now.”

Christiansen said it was big win for the Tigers and Forristall.

“It was nice being able to get that win there with us falling short to Newman last week. That was a really needed win for the conference,” he said. “Tyler had a great game and threw probably one of the best games I’ve seen him throw, which is awesome when helping us keep the lead throughout the whole game.”

Mendota coach Cody Zinke said Forristall proved to be a tough ticket right from the start.

“He was in command. He was getting ahead of a lot of batters. I don’t think our approach the first time or two around the batting order was very good,” he said. “But again, credit to him. He was throwing strikes. He was in command. Yeah, he just kind of dominated us.”

Zinke and the Trojans will be looking forward to the rematch Thursday at Mendota.

“We get back on the field tomorrow against Hinckley-Big Rock. That’s the nice thing about baseball. Rather than sit on this a few days, we get right after it,“ he said. ”Looking forward to a little revenge at our place for sure Thursday.”