By Sean Duncan

BURBANK – Saturday’s game between No. 4 St. Laurence and No. 7 Simeon had the hype. It had the high-level players – seven top 20-ranked prospects in their respective classes, to be exact. It had the video cameras, the scouts and a whole mess of Turface, too.

But only St. Laurence had junior Kevin Smith. And in the end, that’s all that mattered.

Smith dismantled Simeon’s athletic offense, throwing a three-hit complete game to lead St. Laurence to a ho-hum 6-0 victory before a healthy early-season crowd.

So much for the hype.

“My main goal was to stay relaxed,” said Smith, who is verbally committed to Creighton as a two-way player. “I have been waiting for this game since the schedule came out. I just wanted to play Viking baseball; just stay within ourselves and play hard.”

Smith was in complete control of his three-pitch mix, which included a consistent 84-85 mph fastball and a sharp 73-74 mph breaking ball. In his first start of the year, Smith walked only one, struck out three and retired the side in order in three of his seven innings.

Simeon (6-1) only advanced to second base twice against Smith – and they were both short-lived. In the first inning, the runner was quickly thrown out from left field on an overly aggressive turn. In the fourth-inning, Blake Hickman doubled with two outs, but Smith retired the next batter.

 “Kevin was in complete control the entire game,” St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus said. “He did a great job of staying composed throughout the game. He was outstanding.”

While Smith was dealing, St. Laurence (4-0) took advantage of five Simeon errors, seven walks and two hit batsmen. The Vikings scored three runs in the second inning, two coming on a bases-loaded walk and bases-loaded hit batsman.

Smith also led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double and reached base all four times. Senior third baseman Zach Lewis laced a two-run single in the fourth to give the Vikings a comfortable 6-0 advantage. Sophomore centerfielder Brad Wood, who made two impressive plays in the field, walked three times and had a sacrifice fly in his four plate appearances.

Senior first baseman Brandon Mallder, who singled and drove in a run, missed hitting a grand slam by a foot in the third inning, but sophomore right fielder Darius Day made a fantastic running catch into the wall.

“Simeon is a great ballclub,” said Smith. “Our whole dugout was into it every pitch. It was a great all-around game for us.”

Simeon’s Day, who’s the No. 1-ranked sophomore in the state, pitched well in relief of junior Elbert Dunnigan. The left-hander allowed no earned runs and struck out four in three innings. Day’s fastball sat at 84-85 mph, touching 86.

“That’s a good team,” said Simeon coach Leroy Franklin of St. Laurence. “We just got beat. You can’t make five errors, and we didn’t hit the way I thought we’d hit. St. Laurence just beat us. That pitcher was good.”