As if graduating from high school on Sunday wasn’t enough of an accomplishment for Highland senior, Ethan Paisley, the right-handed pitcher followed it up by tossing a perfect game Monday night as the Huskies defeated the Washington Demons 5-0.

Paisley was sharp from the jump, needing only 81 pitches to retire all 21 batters faced. Backed up by flawless defense, he struck out 13 in the outing, and improved his overall record to 1-1. Paisley spoke to KCII following his performance. “It feels like a dream to be honest. My breaking ball was moving where I wanted it to and my fast ball was moving. It’s just a great feeling.”

While it wasn’t an offensive onslaught for Highland, they struck early and often, scoring in four straight innings. Senior Tyler Thompson got the Huskies on the board with a two-run double in the second inning, en route to a 2-3 evening at the plate. Ryker Miller tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly in the third, and Paisley helped himself with an RBI single in the fourth.

Highland improves to 2-1 on the season with a busy week ahead. They take on Louisa-Muscatine tonight before traveling to Pekin Friday.

With the loss, Demons open their season 0-1. Isaac Vetter made the start on the bump, allowing three earned runs in as many innings and striking out two. He was relieved by Luke Beenblossom who recorded three strikeouts in two innings of work, followed by a two-punchout inning from Ethan Patterson. The Demons hit the diamond Thursday for their home opener against Muscatine. KCII will be broadcasting the match-up on106.1 FM, with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.