DARLINGTON - Three Darlington pitchers combined tossed a no-hitter as the Redbirds rallied for an 8-3 season-opening win over Black Hawk Tuesday at Otto Ruf Field.
It was a rare occasion where the no-hitter didn't feel like it was in the works. Black Hawk had a lot of baserunners early on and squandered a golden scoring opportunity with the bases loaded and one-out in the first inning. However, Darlington junior starting pitcher Preston Banfield worked out of the jam.
The two teams combined to walk 21 batters and hit four others in the season opener. Black Hawk went 0-for-9 hitting with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 on base.
"It's kind of atypical you get that many runners on," Darlington coach Brad Solberg said of the combined no-hitter. "That is what makes baseball fun. You see a lot of strange things and you can get out of it OK. That is what we did tonight. I was very happy with how our pitchers threw strikes. I was really impressed defensively with our infield."
The game served as a "Miracle Minute" fundraiser for cancer research in the name of Carson Hartwig, a Darlington seventh-grader who has cancer. There was $901 raised by donations at the game for the Hartwig family.
"For both Darlington and Black Hawk coming together shows what we have known for a long time how special these communities are. There are not many places that can do what we did in one minute," Solberg said.
Darlington senior Jackson Hemming tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief to get the win. He struck out six and hit three. Darlington junior Nick Andrae also delivered with two shutout innings in relief and struck out four.
"We knew we would have a hard time starting out because we lost most of our starters," said Darlington junior Shane Gallagher, who had a two-run single in a five-run fourth for the Redbirds. "We knew we would have to really work hard in the offseason. It was kind of a relief to win this first game."
It was a rocky start early on for both starting pitchers. After walking the bases loaded, Black Hawk junior Reece Shelton tried to score on a passed ball but was thrown out at the plate by a pinpoint throw to Banfield, who put the tag on. Banfield then struck out Black Hawk's Jayden Stietz.
Black Hawk starting pitcher Nick Whitcomb also walked three to load the bases with one out in the first. Darlington freshman Carter Lancaster then coaxed a fourth walk by Whitcomb to score the first run of the game. The two starting pitchers combined to walk 13 in the first two innings. Gallagher and Lancaster each had two RBI for the Redbirds. Darlington's Ben Cooper went 1-for-2 with two walks. Hemming scored two runs and had two stolen bases.
With two outs in the second, the Warriors broke through thanks to some off-the-mark pitching. Banfield walked Shelton, which was his second walk of the inning. Black Hawk sophomore Avery Baumgartner scored a run on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2. Banfield then walked Black Hawk's Jace Tuescher with the bases loaded to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth when the Redbirds rallied with five runs - three unearned - thanks to three errors.
"I was disappointed that we stopped competing after about the third or fourth inning," Black Hawk coach Scott Cernek said. "They have to play with more confidence. That's what we are trying to build into them. We were our own worst enemy. We threw the ball away two or three of times and gave them more opportunities. We had trouble throwing strikes. It's early. I think they will bounce back. They are learning the game."
Darlington's Cooper walked to lead off the fourth. Courtesy runner Andrew Merriam scored when Black Hawk senior catcher Brody Milz's throw went into center field to tie the game at 3. Darlington's Barry Schliem followed with a sacrifice bunt and Hemming scored on Stietz's wild throw from the mound to first base to give the Redbirds a 4-3 lead. Black Hawk senior relief pitcher Michael Flanagan then walked in a run. Gallagher came through with the big blow lining a two-run single to right to give the Redbirds a 7-3 lead.
"I knew it was the cold weather and it was our first game too so it was a little rusty to get used to the live pitching and the different situations," Gallagher said. "It took everyone a while for everyone to get used to it and there was a lot of walks. It was hard to kind of get into a flow. Once a rally starts it's like that is baseball. Once you start a rally that really gets everyone going."
Black Hawk struggled putting the ball in play. The Warriors had 14 strikeouts as a team against the trio of Darlington pitchers. Shelton walked twice and had two stolen bases. The Warriors had three other players reach base multiple times including senior Jason Treuthardt (two walks), Milz (walk, hit by pitch) and Baumgartner (walk, hit by pitch and reached on an error).
Cernek didn't buy the chilly weather as a key in the high amount of walks and the effectiveness of the pitchers.
"I don't think it was a factor," he said. "Once you start competing the blood is pumping and you don't really notice it a lot. I think it was first game jitters for some of them. Hopefully, we can get in the mindset that we can compete with teams. It's a confidence thing we have to grow into. Give Darlington credit. They made plays."
It was a rare occasion where the no-hitter didn't feel like it was in the works. Black Hawk had a lot of baserunners early on and squandered a golden scoring opportunity with the bases loaded and one-out in the first inning. However, Darlington junior starting pitcher Preston Banfield worked out of the jam.
The two teams combined to walk 21 batters and hit four others in the season opener. Black Hawk went 0-for-9 hitting with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 on base.
"It's kind of atypical you get that many runners on," Darlington coach Brad Solberg said of the combined no-hitter. "That is what makes baseball fun. You see a lot of strange things and you can get out of it OK. That is what we did tonight. I was very happy with how our pitchers threw strikes. I was really impressed defensively with our infield."
The game served as a "Miracle Minute" fundraiser for cancer research in the name of Carson Hartwig, a Darlington seventh-grader who has cancer. There was $901 raised by donations at the game for the Hartwig family.
"For both Darlington and Black Hawk coming together shows what we have known for a long time how special these communities are. There are not many places that can do what we did in one minute," Solberg said.
Darlington senior Jackson Hemming tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief to get the win. He struck out six and hit three. Darlington junior Nick Andrae also delivered with two shutout innings in relief and struck out four.
"We knew we would have a hard time starting out because we lost most of our starters," said Darlington junior Shane Gallagher, who had a two-run single in a five-run fourth for the Redbirds. "We knew we would have to really work hard in the offseason. It was kind of a relief to win this first game."
It was a rocky start early on for both starting pitchers. After walking the bases loaded, Black Hawk junior Reece Shelton tried to score on a passed ball but was thrown out at the plate by a pinpoint throw to Banfield, who put the tag on. Banfield then struck out Black Hawk's Jayden Stietz.
Black Hawk starting pitcher Nick Whitcomb also walked three to load the bases with one out in the first. Darlington freshman Carter Lancaster then coaxed a fourth walk by Whitcomb to score the first run of the game. The two starting pitchers combined to walk 13 in the first two innings. Gallagher and Lancaster each had two RBI for the Redbirds. Darlington's Ben Cooper went 1-for-2 with two walks. Hemming scored two runs and had two stolen bases.
With two outs in the second, the Warriors broke through thanks to some off-the-mark pitching. Banfield walked Shelton, which was his second walk of the inning. Black Hawk sophomore Avery Baumgartner scored a run on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2. Banfield then walked Black Hawk's Jace Tuescher with the bases loaded to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth when the Redbirds rallied with five runs - three unearned - thanks to three errors.
"I was disappointed that we stopped competing after about the third or fourth inning," Black Hawk coach Scott Cernek said. "They have to play with more confidence. That's what we are trying to build into them. We were our own worst enemy. We threw the ball away two or three of times and gave them more opportunities. We had trouble throwing strikes. It's early. I think they will bounce back. They are learning the game."
Darlington's Cooper walked to lead off the fourth. Courtesy runner Andrew Merriam scored when Black Hawk senior catcher Brody Milz's throw went into center field to tie the game at 3. Darlington's Barry Schliem followed with a sacrifice bunt and Hemming scored on Stietz's wild throw from the mound to first base to give the Redbirds a 4-3 lead. Black Hawk senior relief pitcher Michael Flanagan then walked in a run. Gallagher came through with the big blow lining a two-run single to right to give the Redbirds a 7-3 lead.
"I knew it was the cold weather and it was our first game too so it was a little rusty to get used to the live pitching and the different situations," Gallagher said. "It took everyone a while for everyone to get used to it and there was a lot of walks. It was hard to kind of get into a flow. Once a rally starts it's like that is baseball. Once you start a rally that really gets everyone going."
Black Hawk struggled putting the ball in play. The Warriors had 14 strikeouts as a team against the trio of Darlington pitchers. Shelton walked twice and had two stolen bases. The Warriors had three other players reach base multiple times including senior Jason Treuthardt (two walks), Milz (walk, hit by pitch) and Baumgartner (walk, hit by pitch and reached on an error).
Cernek didn't buy the chilly weather as a key in the high amount of walks and the effectiveness of the pitchers.
"I don't think it was a factor," he said. "Once you start competing the blood is pumping and you don't really notice it a lot. I think it was first game jitters for some of them. Hopefully, we can get in the mindset that we can compete with teams. It's a confidence thing we have to grow into. Give Darlington credit. They made plays."
