Senior Nolan Becker stood tall on the artificial mound at Pier 40, reached back with his left hand and hurled a fastball. Manhattan Bridges junior Jose Payamps froze and it was over.

18 up, 18 down, 18 strikeouts.

Stuyvesant’s varsity baseball team, the Hitmen, beat the Gladiators 10-0 on Wednesday, April 8 at Pier 40 behind senior and captain Becker’s perfect game.

The perfect game was one of a kind. Becker did not allow a hit, a walk or a base runner in the six-inning game, striking out all 18 batters he faced. Only three hitters made contact, but no one put the ball in play. “Before the game, I just wanted to get the win but I had a good feeling about the game. I knew I could dominate,” said Becker, who is 2-0 with an earned run average of 0.00 and has 30 strikeouts in 11 innings.

As Becker fanned batter after batter, the excitement at Pier 40 grew. The Stuyvesant faithful who had made the trip to see the game knew he was on the verge of perfection. “My goal is always to strike the batter out. When I was striking everyone out I was doing what I set out to do,” Becker said. “I was content, but I always wanted to strike the next guy out even more.”

Becker’s perfect game was nearly jinxed in the fifth inning when a fan told him how many Gladiators he had struck out. It is customary to leave a pitcher alone when he is throwing a perfect game. “We yelled at her and told her how perfect games are supposed to be treated,” senior and captain Nick Rozar said. “She left after that.”

Another batter attempted to break up the perfect game on a bunt. Becker, knowing the bunt was coming, threw right around him. In his first start against the High School of Environmental Studies, Becker’s bid for a no-hitter was broken up on a bunt down the third baseline. “The only thought that was going through my mind was, don’t make an error, don’t be the one to ruin his chance at history,” Rozar said.

This time however, Becker dominated until the last inning. “Going out onto the mound in the last inning was probably the most nervous I have been as a pitcher,” Becker said.

After Becker threw the last strike, senior, captain and catcher Nick Wheatley-Schaller jumped up and into Becker’s arms. The rest of the team poured onto the mound, chanting Becker’s name. “Nolan goes out there every time and we know he has a chance at perfection. It’s great that he got to finally do it in front of the hometown crowd,” Rozar said.

FiveBoroSports.com, a Web site for New York high school and college sports, named Becker athlete of the week after his performance. “Now everybody in the league and the city knows that we are a team to look out for,” Becker said.