Solomon Wegmeyer is an intimidating presence on the mound.
The West Ottawa junior stands 6 feet, 3 inches, and weights about 230 pounds. He plays power forward in basketball and looks every bit of it as he is staring down the hitters.
Given his build, it is no surprise he can pitch 90 mph, which is another layer of intimidation.
But when Wegmeyer is painting the corners, he proved he can be unstoppable.
Wegemeyer threw a no-hitter on Thursday, April 23, to beat Rockford 2-1 – clinching a 2-1 series win over the rival Rams.
“It was an amazing day not just for me but for our team,” Wegmeyer said. “I was feeling amazing and during warm-ups everything was moving great, but I seriously could not do it without the guys behind me that were just as committed to no-hit Rockford. I also have to give some praise to my catcher, Cayden Ortega. He was an absolute wall for me yesterday and helped me feel more confident about painting the corners.”
Wegmeyer was able to balance his fastball and breaking pitches, which was key. He struck out four and walked four.
“During the outing Sol did a great job having a willingness to throw any pitch in any count. He was excellent at keeping the Rockford hitters off balance and getting outs quickly and efficiently,” West Ottawa pitching coach Sean Hoey said. “Overall, Sol’s biggest strength is wanting the ball in any moment. He has a fight for the team no matter the situation and bring a competitive fire every time he steps on the mound.”
That competitive fire can get him through tough situations or when his control is off. But that wasn’t the case on Thursday. Everything was working.
“Solomon’s biggest strength is that he is an ultra competitor and loves to pitch on the big stage,” West Ottawa coach Sean Bateman said. “No moment is too big for him. He feeds off his emotions and high energy and his teammates follow suit. We knew that he had the potential to do something special against Rockford when he came out of the bullpen after warmups. One of our assistant coaches in the pen said that it was the best stuff that he had seen from him all year. His laser focused preparation translated to the game where he had his entire arsenal of pitches working tonight.
“His fastball was touching 90, his devastating curveball was on and a changeup was falling off the table. Solomon has worked so hard training this offseason for these types of moments. He wanted to compete his tail off tonight for his teammates knowing that West Ottawa has not won an OK RED league series against Rockford in years and he was determined to change the narrative.”
The Panthers are having a good start to a season full of potential – and they have big goals.
“We have been very committed to stay together as a group since we were kids to complete the goal of winning a state title,” Wegmeyer said. “The chemistry on our team was the 100% reason why Thursday was such a great day.”
And that is why the season has been so exciting.
“This is just a statement for what is to come at West Ottawa,” Wegmeyer said. “Huge things coming.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa baseball’s Solomon Wegman fires no-hitter vs Rockford
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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