But ...

"He made it to the ultimate, and that's pretty cool," Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Halloran said.

De Vries is the second of Halloran's players to don a major league uniform. Neil Wagner, also a pitcher, made his debut with Oakland in August.

"They've defied the odds," a papa-proud Halloran boasted last week. "I'm just so fired up for Cole. I'd love to see it on a regular basis."

Halloran, Eden Prairie's coach for 18 seasons, said he regularly keeps in touch with former players via e-mails and text messages. Last summer at the wedding of another former player, Halloran bumped into De Vries.

"We got to talking and talked about how this was going to be his year," Halloran said. "I knew he was going to put up some numbers, and it finally worked out for him. Hopefully he takes advantage. I'd love to see him pitch on a regular basis."

Eden Prairie is the No. 3 seed (behind Shakopee and Minnetonka) in the Class 3A, Section 2 tournament, which continues play this week.

Millers finish undefeated

Josh Pierce was masterful on the mound in the regular-season finale Twin City Game last week at the Metrodome. He pitched a complete game for Minneapolis Washburn, giving up four hits and striking out 15 as the Millers beat Highland Park 4-1.

The Millers finished the regular season 20-0 and earned the No. 1 seed in Class 2A, Section 4.