The initial plan called for Gerrit Koot to stay under 75 pitches during the Mason baseball team’s game against Tecumseh on April 27.
But sometimes plans are meant to be altered.
And it came for a good reason for Koot.
After being around the planned pitch target through six no-hit innings, Mason coach Kohl Tyrrell asked Koot if he wanted to keep going or throw again later in the week. Koot consulted with his older brother Colin, one of Mason’s assistant coaches, about his options before ultimately deciding to keep going.
That decision led to Koot firing the first no-hitter of his career in Mason’s 1-0 walk-off victory.
“I remember I told my brother that it’s not every day you’re three outs away from a no-hitter so I’ve got to finish this,” Koot said.
That he did. Being able to experience a no-hitter for the first time was described as amazing by Koot, who was voted the LSJ boys high school athlete of the week.
Koot retired the final 21 batters he faced after the leadoff hitter reached via an error. He struck out six in an outing in which he faced one batter over the minimum and threw 61 of his 83 pitches for strikes. Koot took a one-batter-at-a-time approach when he realized he was closing in on the no-hitter to stay composed in the tight game.
“Gerrit is definitely the right athlete and person to do that job,” Tyrrell said. “You talk about pressure and you’re exactly right. He knew the situation and when you’re cruising along and (the opponent is) hitless in a ballgame, it’s going to stay in your mind the entire game. Gerrit — he carries himself very well. He’s very polished when it comes to keeping his composure. Some of it probably comes from being the starting quarterback for the high school football team where he’s been in pressure situations there.
“He’s just poised so well and carries himself like it’s no big deal. It’s I’ve got a job to do and I’m going to do it. As a starting pitcher his job is to put us in position to win. He’s done that all year and obviously he did that against Tecumseh where we could finally scratch a run across to walk it off.”
That no-hitter has been part of a strong start to the junior season for Koot, who entered May 7 with a 3-0 record and a 0.00 earned run average through 21 innings. Koot has relished playing his role as part of a deep pitching staff that has helped Mason to a 15-4 start, tied atop the CAAC Red with Williamston. He credits adding five miles MPH of velocity to his fastball for contributing to his success this spring.
“Last year I was kind of scared to throw fastballs, but this year it’s been one of my best pitches,” Koot said. “My curveball has been working really well for me because I’ve been starting to throw that harder and get more rotations on it. It’s been breaking more and I really like to throw that late in counts to get batters.”
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Altered plan leads to big achievement on mound for Mason’s Gerrit Koot
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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