Wilmington Sharks righthander Zach Taylor (Evansville) threw the first perfect game in the 14-year history of the Coastal Plain League on Thursday, in a 13-0 win against Fayetteville.

The rising senior needed just 117 pitches to complete the nine-inning perfect game, inducing 13 groundball outs, 10 flyouts and striking out four. His defense helped him complete the perfect game with a nice back-handed play at shortstop in the fourth inning, and a nice catch in deep left-center in the fifth inning.

"You just have to stay focused and realize you can only take care of what you can take care of," Taylor told the Wilmington Star News. "You have to let the at-bats go and just focus when you get out there."

Taylor has worked mostly in relief during his career at Evansville—he has made just 16 starts in 70 career appearances over three years. He has made nine appearances this summer, including four starts, and is 3-1, 1.82 with 22 strikeouts and five walks in 35 innings. The Aces said Taylor improved his strength and conditioning in the offseason; he now works in the upper 80s with his fastball and mixes in a very good slider.

The perfect game was even more special for Taylor because his family was in town from Fort Wayne to see him pitch. They were among the Thirsty Thursday crowd of 2,756 fans who got to witness CPL history.