It was 21 up and 21 down for rookie pitcher Sean O'Neill, who was nothing short of perfect in his MABL debut on the hill for the Merrimack Valley Marlins on Mother's Day this past Sunday.

O'Neill struck out 19 of the 21 batters he faced in a 9-0 win over the Boston Jakes, setting a BMBL record for most strikeouts in a single 7-inning game. He also chipped in on offense, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

O'Neill becomes just the 4th player in BMBL history to achieve perfection, joining BMBL Hall of Famer Bryan Gauvin who hurled a perfect game with 8 K's back on August 13, 2005 — Steve Heuston, who accomplished the feat on August 17, 2014 with 5 K's — and Tommy Lenane, the only player to throw a perfect game in the postseason on September 8, 2015 with 9 K's.

O'Neill came within just two strikeouts of throwing the ultimate perfect game — 21 batters, 21 strikeouts.

This is the first year playing in the MABL 18+ Division for O'Neill, who was recruited by fellow Marlins' teammates after playing together at Reading Memorial High School. There, O'Neill was a three-year starting pitcher/infielder and helped lead the team to three consecutive Middlesex League Championships from 2012-2014.

In his senior year as captain of the team, O'Neill was a Boston Globe All-Scholastic, the 2014 Under Armour Preseason All-American, Massachusetts/Connecticut All-Star Game Most Valuable Pitcher, and a member of the National Honors Society.

After high school, he went on to pitch for four years at Brandeis University as an undergrad, and one year at UMass Lowell as a grad student.

The Merrimack Valley Marlins' Manager Jeff Buxton and all of the players have dedicated the 2021 season to Jay Baumgarten (aka "Coach Jay"), who sadly passed away on April 20th.

Coach Jay was the assistant coach to Buxton for over a decade in the Big Diamond Summer League (BDSL). Together, they ran the North Andover team in the 13+ age division, where many of the current Marlins players began their baseball careers and where Coach Jay left a lasting impression on the young men.

The players had a special banner made in honor of Coach Jay and proudly hung it in their dugout for the first time on Sunday. They know he was watching from above and had a hand in O'Neill's historic feat. Special patches are also being made and will be worn on the player's jerseys this season.

The team will be holding a ceremony for Jay's family on Sunday, June 27th at North Andover High School, prior to their game with the Boston Jakes, which is scheduled for 1:30 PM.