UPDATE (April 12, 2016, 11:10 a.m.): Added quotes from Mansfield head coach Harry Hillson; quotes from Hillson and players courtesy of Mansfield Sports Information.
No hitters don’t exactly grow on trees, even in D2 baseball, where seven-inning doubleheaders are the norm for most intra-conference contests, which makes the back-to-back no hitters thrown by BR-201 Mansfield pitchers thrown against BR-170 Kutztown in Mansfield, Pa. on Monday even more impressive.
Not only did junior Brandon Garrett and sophomore Luke Hils throw consecutive no-hitters, the Mounties defated Kutztown 1-0 in both games. And, to top it all off, Garrett’s performance came two days after his grandfather passed away.
Mansfield's Brandon Garrett pitches a no-hitter just two days after the passing of his grandfather #GoMounties pic.twitter.com/gtnwyyqKjw
— Mansfield Athletics (@MUMounties) April 11, 2016
“I told [Mansfield head coach Harry Hillson] rain, shine, or snow; if we're playing, I'm pitching,” Garrett said. “I know he was here for me today. A couple of those lucky bounces went my way and I know he's watching up there. He would have loved to be here.”
Garrett (2-2) opened the double-header with seven innings of no hit pitching while striking out 10 and walking two for Mansfield (17-19, 9-7 PSAC East) as Zach Merkle’s walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh gave the Mounties the win.
Matt Swarmer also threw a gem for Kutztown (15-17, 5-11 PSAC East), going 6 2/3 innings while allowing just four hits and striking out 11. Swarmer (3-3) didn’t allow a hit until Ryan Paige belted a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth. Paige stole second, but Swarmer struck out the side to thwart the threat.
Garrett threw Mansfield’s first no-hitter since March 3, 1997 when Chris Zallie threw a five-inning no hitter against Jamestown (N.D.) in Florida.
But that wasn’t the only set of gems thrown at Shaute Field on an overcast Monday afternoon in Mansfield.
How do you follow a no-hitter? Throw one of your own. Luke Hils goes no-no in game two!! #GoMounties pic.twitter.com/rITay7xNOm
— Mansfield Athletics (@MUMounties) April 11, 2016
After going slightly less than 7,000 days (6,979 to be exact) between no-hitters, Mansfield only needed 116 minutes for the next no-hitter as Hils (2-0) struck out six and walked three in the nightcap for the Mounties. Tanner Klein launched Pat Flynn’s 1-0 offering over the center field fence in the bottom of the second to account for the game’s lone run.
“I never would have thought this could happen,” said Hils following the game. “It was a tough game to follow because no one would ever expect two in one day. It’s still overwhelming.”
For the second straight game, Kutztown saw a strong effort from their starting pitcher go for naught as Flynn scattered five hits over six innings while striking out nine and walking two.
The no-hitters marked the first thrown at Shaute Field since Tom DeSanto blanked SUNY-Oneonta 11-0 on April 17, 1977. Hillson, however, was not thinking about a no-hitter until “after the last out.”
“It’s bad karma, especially in this park,” Hillson said. “You don’t throw too many in this park.”
Mansfield managed a split of the four-game series as Kutztown swept Sunday’s doubleheader 12-0 and 4-1. With today’s sweep, the Mounties sit two games behind Kutztown and BR-96 Bloomsburg for the fourth and final playoff berth from the PSAC East.
