GREEN LAKE – With the offense coming through with a big five-spot in the first inning Monday night, Green Lake sophomore Curtis Morgan knew he could be a little more relaxed on the mound for the Lakers.

Morgan’s laid-back style on the mound translated into seven strikeouts and seven ground ball outs that led to the school’s first perfect game in school history and an 11-0 five-inning Trailways North Conference victory over Cambria-Friesland.

“My teammates started to get on me in the fourth inning about a no-hitter,” Morgan said. “After the game everybody was giving me high-fives. It was really unbelievable.”

Morgan found a groove with his fastball and curveball to cruise through the Cambria-Friesland order.  In any perfect game or no-hitter, there is that one defensive play that helps keep it alive and that came in the fifth inning on a fly ball.

“It was a fly out to right,” Morgan said. “It scared me a little bit, but we made the play.”

The Lakers (7-2, 10-3) have had 10 no-hitters in the last 10-12 years, but never a perfect game, Green Lake coach Tim Poock said.

Morgan was in control from the opening inning and seemed to bring it all together as the game went on.

“He gets ahead of hitters and even if he’s down 3-0, he’s very tough and he doesn’t give in,” Poock said. “He typically keeps the ball down and gets ahead of hitters.”

Morgan has stepped into the role of the No. 2 pitcher and has bounced back from some hard-luck losses already this season. After the perfect game he’s 2-2 with a 1.81 ERA. In 27 innings he has 30 strikeouts and just eight walks.

“As a coaching staff, we were hoping that he would step into that role later in the year, but we came to him a couple weeks ago to move him into that role earlier,” Poock said. “He’s had three really good starts. He throws strikes and doesn’t walk people.”

The perfect game will only make Morgan better as he looks to solidify his spot on the varsity squad and help the Lakers catch Oshkosh Lourdes, which sits atop the conference standings.

“This is going to nothing but help me,” Morgan said. “It shows me what I can do. When I get older, I’ll be able to use a game like this to push me.”