Sitka pitcher Caleb Calhoun throws perfect outing

A lot of zeros were already showing on the scoreboard of Ketchikan’s Norman Walker Field on Saturday when Sitka junior pitcher Caleb Calhoun stared down from the bump at senior catcher Tanner Steinson, with two outs and a full count on Kings junior Bryant Marquez.

“My catcher, Tanner, he’ll give me signs and I’ll shake him off and tell him what I want,” Calhoun said. “He gave me a couple knuckleballs, but I was like, ‘No, I’m throwing a fastball.’ I love my fastball.”

The Kayhi batter did not and watched it sail past. In a run-shortened, five-inning 24-0 rout over the Ketchikan Kings, Calhoun racked up a perfect outing of no hits, no walks, no hit batters and no defensive errors allowing a runner on base. He posted 15 strikeouts.

“Oh man, it felt great,” Calhoun said. “I mean, I knew about the whole thing being perfect, so I was a little nervous. I was hoping I didn’t jinx it.”

Against all traditions, his teammates were enthusiastic after each inning resulted in Ketchikan players walking to the plate to challenge Calhoun — and then shaking their heads as they walked back to the home dugout.

“Oh geez, every time I closed an inning and got back to the dugout, it was all hype,” Calhoun said, laughing. “You’re supposed to, you know, leave the pitcher alone or not talk about it, but nobody follows that. Everybody’s excited. It was a lot of fun.”

A situation similar to the final batter’s 3-2 count had also happened earlier in the game, in the bottom of the second inning, with Kayhi junior first baseman/pitcher Cash Larson at bat.

“I didn’t realize that one at the time,” Calhoun said. Calhoun had all three batters that inning flail at third strikes.

When it happened again with the potential final out, Calhoun said he became nervous for the first time.

“I was too out of it and just wanted to get it going, keep striking them out,” he said. “But it was the very last batter and he’s not usually in the lineup so I wasn’t too worried. But he fouled the first couple off and then I got him to a full count, and I was like, ‘Oh no, here we go.’ I found the inside half and struck him out. He didn’t swing. It was an incredible feeling, you know, realizing what I did…I thought about celebrating, you know, throwing the glove, but I had to keep it low. Everyone on the team was excited. My head coach, Kenny (Carley), was all about it. And I got to my dad and he gave me a hug. He was…he was proud, I could tell.”

The team was emotionally exhausted as well and did not rush the mound.

“I wish,” Calhoun laughed. “I mean, we have some good hitters. 24 runs. I would have really liked to have seen seven innings and tried for more strikeouts, but my teammates, I couldn’t have done anything close to this without them. They are really good hitters.”

Calhoun then noted members of the Wolves’ lineup.

He said he has never had a more dominant infield behind him. “Brett Ross (Jr. #5) showed last year — and the year before and now is still — an animal at second…Josh McAlpin (Jr. #7) has stepped up and won third base, really showed he knows where to go and has exactly what it takes to compete with anybody…Chance (Coleman, Sr. #4) at shortstop…and when I’m on the bump Josh (Gluth, Sr. #9) plays first base perfectly…Evan Grant (Jr. #8, right field) showed he has an arm and can track a ball…My cousin Bryce (Compagno-Calhoun, Sr. #16) is quick in center field and covers a lot of ground…Tyson (Bartolaba, left field, Sr. #11) is figuring it out, is really quick and smart and has a good arm…It is cool knowing they are there and our coaches, they know where to put us and where we are best and always motivate us. We know they are behind us if anything goes wrong and they have our backs. That’s a great feeling.”

Saturday started casually.

Calhoun and some buddies walked to McDonald’s. Then they returned to their waterside lodging and were fishing out the window.

“Yeah, it was a pretty fun day,” he said. “We were still excited for the game and all that, but it was a nice day.”

It got nicer. Calhoun listened to his pregame go-to song “It Ain’t Like That” by Alice In Chains.

“It really gets me going,” he said. “My teammates tell me on the bump and I know I have to get right and just throw my arm out.”

Calhoun has always played above the odds. He was the only 9 year old on the Sitka Little League Minors All-Star team that won the Southeast title. Two years later he was part of the Sitka team that defeated Juneau in the district Little League championship and Knik Little League for the state title. He also played in San Bernardino, California, before falling to Montana for the Far West Regional title and a trip to the Williamsport World Series.

Calhoun wore #1 then. His favorite food was pizza rolls and favorite player Barry Bonds.

“My favorite food now is definitely my dad’s tortellini,” Calhoun (#12 now) laughed. “And now my favorite player is Major League pitcher Joe Kelly.”

Many of those Little League teammates are on this Sitka roster.

“We have really good chemistry,” Calhoun said. “We’ve all done the same thing for years and years…I’ve always pitched a lot, but it wasn’t my main thing. It still isn’t now, but they’ve just been throwing me on the bump.”

Calhoun said it was in seventh or eighth grade when he first started getting into pitching.

“And I remember before that being on the Halibut Point Marine team,” he said. “That was a fun year because I got to play with my older brother (Nick) and that was the only time I ever got to play with him.”

This is not his first no-hitter of the season. Calhoun no-hit Ketchikan in a five-inning, 10-0 win April 17 at Sitka’s Moller Field. He walked two batters and stuck out 14.

As of Saturday, Calhoun has pitched 21.1 innings this season. He has faced 83 batters and struck out 60. Opponents are hitting just .042 against him.

“I knew what was happening and kept silent along with my other two coaches,” Sitka head coach Ken Carley said of the perfect outing. “I was so relieved when it was over and happy for Caleb.”

Only three batters have earned a hit off Calhoun this season. Soldotna Stars senior Brett Hostetler hit a single to center field in the top of the fifth inning of Sitka’s 5-1 win April 4 at Moller Field. In that time-shortened game, Calhoun only pitched the fifth inning, walked two batters and struck out two.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Tyler Frisby tripled to center field in the top of the fourth inning of the Wolves’ 10-1 win April 4 at Sitka. Calhoun walked three batters and struck out eight in his four-inning, time-shortened outing.

JDHS junior Brandon Casperson singled to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Wolves’ 4-0 win April 26 at JDHS’ Adair Kennedy Memorial Park. Calhoun pitched 6.2 innings, walked two batters and struck out 15.

Calhoun’s 4-0 record and 0.00 ERA are opening eyes around the state and beyond.

“That is hard to do at any level,” Chad Bentz, last season’s JDHS coach and athletic director, said. Bentz is now athletic director at NOVI Christian Academy in Novi, Michigan. Bentz set the state record for strikeouts in a game his senior year at JDHS with 19 in 1999 (before the pitch count rule was set), and it was equaled by West Anchorage’s Dalton Chapman in 2014. Bentz was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 2001, made his MLB debut three years later, and two of his 18 career strikeouts have been against Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki. “I know that kid (Calhoun). I know that player. He is a true competitor.”

Bentz said he enjoyed chatting with Calhoun last season.

“He was playing first base and I was at the first base coaching box last year during regionals,” Bentz said. “I could just tell, I was kidding with him and coach Carley, ‘You guys should move to Juneau.Your whole family, make it a legal move…’ His talent is icing on the cake, but his competitiveness is what I was drawn to. He wanted to win and he was bummed, he did something to his leg and he wasn’t able to pitch and he was really bummed, but he stayed in the game because he goes, ‘I can play first.’ So he wasn’t 100% but he gave whatever percentage he was. He gave 100% of whatever that percentage was. So if he was at 50%, he was giving 100% of that 50%. And I would take nine guys, even below-average players, with that mindset because you can’t teach that. You either have it or you don’t and that kid has it.”

Sitka had already won the conference that year and would lose that game to JDHS and sophomore pitcher Cayman Huff. But then the Wolves beat Thunder Mountain to meet JD for the region title and beat the Crimson Bears twice.

“Huff was incredible for us that game,” Bentz said. “But Sitka then played like Sitka. They are always a team that can hit, but if they have pitching and defense they win a state title. They were close games, but regardless we lost. I have always loved the way Sitka plays and it sounds like they have a special team this year, and Caleb is a special player surrounded by special players…I remember in my playing days, there was no better competition other than me facing whoever was standing in that batter’s box. It was me versus them, and I was going to do everything I could to attack that strike zone and get them out. Did that always happen? Absolutely not…Success isn’t always result oriented…Every single pitch matters…You can’t teach that stuff, you are born with it, that’s my personal opinion, you either have it or you don’t…I know he has it and if you surround yourself with other guys that are willing to strive for it you can achieve anything.”

On Saturday, Calhoun threw 68 pitches, 48 for strikes. He had nine batters flailing at last swings — including the first six faced — and six looking at a blur go past. (Calhoun also went 1-3 at the plate with 1 RBI and earned 2 walks).

According to Van Williams, Alaska Sports Report editor, even though Calhoun threw a perfect outing it did not reach the required seven innings of a complete game. But Calhoun is believed to be the first Alaska high schooler to strike out every batter in a game of five innings. Other strong performances have included Grace Christian’s Colton Reger with 18 strikeouts in a 2022 game, Bartlett High School’s Carl Colavecchio 16 in a 2021 game and Service’s Hunter Christian with 15 in 2024.

“As his coach it was something special to watch,” Sitka assistant coach, and father, Ryne Calhoun said. “He was so confident and dominant that it seemed to bleed into the team’s offense. The longer he pitched the harder he threw. It’s a bummer it didn’t go a full seven. As his dad I was losing my mind. I couldn’t wait to see him get back on the mound every inning. All the hard work and time he puts in shows, I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Sitka leads the Division I Southeast Conference with a 9-0 record, 16-2-1 overall, and has wrapped up the regular season title with just three games to host against JDHS May 23-24. They also face SEC DII Petersburg this weekend. The Region V tournament championship would give the Wolves the top conference seeding for state.

“It is not over yet,” C. Calhoun said. “We have to finish business in Southeast, but we are really excited to see how we can compete against better teams up north, really excited to travel.”

Calhoun said his goal isn’t the Sitka High School strikeout record.

“I have no clue what it is,” he said. “I just want to see how far our team can go, like hit-wise, and just hopefully get in the championship, but I know it is going to be a hard battle against Service and South.”

Calhoun is part of a dominant Sitka starting rotation that is crucial for a team’s run through the state tournament June 5-7 at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium, as pitching innings become vital over a possible three-games-in-three-days scenario. The Alaska high school pitch count rule caps hurlers at 120 pitches before they need four days of rest.

Sitka starters C. Calhoun, B. Compagno-Calhoun and senior Levi Hodges have combined for 135 strikeouts over 74.1 innings, allowed just 24 hits and faced 289 batters.

The day before C. Calhoun’s perfect outing his cousin B. Compagno-Calhoun threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts against the Kings in a 3-2 Sitka win. Compagno-Calhoun threw 123 pitches, but reached his pitch count max one-out shy of a complete seven-inning game and standout junior reliever Evan Grant worked the final out.

“Our pitching staff is definitely a bonus,” Sitka head coach Ken Carley said. “We have three dominant pitchers who can go a complete game if needed, and half a dozen relievers. Southeast teams seem to always have a deep bullpen as all of our games come on the weekends in a three-game series. I think that most of the Anchorage-based teams spread their games throughout the week which I think gives Southeast teams an advantage at the state’s three-day tournament.”

When not pitching, C. Calhoun works first base for the Wolves. He has played in 17 of the Wolves’ 19 games this season and has a batting average of .400, third highest on the team. He is tied for third with 16 hits behind B. Calhoun and Coleman (both at 21), Steinson (19) and Bartolaba (16). He has the team’s only other home run behind Steinson (2).

“I like pitching a lot more,” Calhoun said. “When I’m pitching, honestly, I feel more focused on hitting, too. So I think pitching is really good for me, first base gets boring sometimes.”

Being a pitcher at bat helps when facing another pitcher.

“It’s just reading their body language,” he said. “It’s really easy to tell whether they are going to throw an off-speed or change it up. I noticed that with Ketchikan’s last pitcher in the last game. I saw him shaking off pitches, trying to confuse me, but I was on him. I knew what he was throwing.”

After the season, Calhoun plans to play with a team all summer down south and in the World Baseball Showcase based out of Australia, which features teammates from around the world.

“There are a lot of cool people to meet,” he said. “We have some from Dubai and Asia. We play tons of games for the amount of time we are there…I’ve tried to pick up some foreign languages to disguise pitches but it’s hard.”

He has a couple college teams interested in his abilities, “but I just want to look forward to my senior year of high school…and then figure out where I want to go and what I want to study.”

Calhoun will approach the future much like the first time he meets a new batter.

“Well, I think in your first at bat, I’d start you with a low outside two-seam and then mix in an inside one and then see how I feel about that,” he said. “See where you’re swinging. And then if you’re on it, fouling it off straight back, I’m gonna hit you with the knuckle curve.”

His pitches of choice are the fastballs. His two-seam will have a lot more tail and run to it. His four-seam is meant to be straight, but his arm slot allows it to still tail.

“I start off four-seam in and two-seam,” he said. “And then I got this weird new thing I learned the other day. If I throw it on the one-seam, it drops a little bit. But I have a changeup, a slider, a normal curve ball, then a knuckle curve…They move a little bit differently. And then sometimes if you’re lucky I’ll throw a knuckleball.”

The Southeast Region V baseball tournament will be at Ketchikan May 29-31 and the state tournament is at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium June 5-7. Expect to see a knuckleball at both venues.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.