Lee Chepil, Pitcher, Baseball team

On April 4, history was made on the baseball diamond for Lakeland College as Lee "Lumberjack" Chepil took the mound for what would be a game that would never be forgotten. Even the fact that he had to borrow someone's glove - he forgot his own - wasn't going to ruin this day.

In a seven-inning, 18-0 win over Maranatha Baptist, Chepil retired all 21 batters he faced, while striking out eight and not allowing a single batter to reach base to put him in the record books as the only pitcher in Lakeland history to ever throw a perfect game.

"We have had four no-hitters before, but this was the first perfect game and it was just awesome," said head coach Chris Thousand. "He did exactly what he needed to do, and the defense did exactly what it needed to do."

"I was kind of relieved it was over," said Chepil. "Words just can't describe it."
Following the final out of the game, the team stormed the field, according to Thousand.

Thousand also added that Chepil wasn't even aware that it was a perfect game until the end.

"I knew I was throwing a no-hitter, but I didn't realize it was a perfect game until the fifth or sixth inning," said Chepil.
This is not Lee's first date with no-hit pitching, however. Chepil threw a no-hitter during his high school years, but this was his first perfect game.

"He still hasn't reached his full potential yet, which is amazing to say," said Thousand.
According to Chepil, this season has been a little different from the start from a motivational standpoint.

"The last two years, I haven't really been successful and I haven't really lived up to my expectations," said Chepil.

"Now, the team says they expect nothing less from me [every time I pitch]," said Chepil, jokingly.

With this performance, Chepil earned the Northern Athletic Conference Player of the Week award for the week of March 30 through April 5. He was on fire the whole week as he posted a 1.08 era and struck out 12 batters during 8.1 innings in two appearances.

"He's one of the hardest workers on the team," said Thousand. "If he keeps working hard, he'll do just fine."