NO-HITTER … North Central righty Sam Moore escaped two bases loaded jams in the final three innings as he threw a no-hitter to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 upset of top seeded Toledo Christian. (PHOTO BY RICH HARDING / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Daniel Cooley
BRYAN (MAY 24, 2023) – North Central hurler Sam Moore was effectively wild in throwing a no-hitter, allowing five walks and hitting three batters.
As a result, Toledo Christian loaded the bases with two outs in both the fifth and seventh innings. But each time, Moore induced a fly out to end the inning and eventually, the game.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Moore hit a batter and then walked a batter, forcing a mound visit from his head coach Josh Hicks.
“I told him, this is your game to win or lose, because I’m not taking you out,” Hicks said. “Finish it.”
Moore retired the next batter on a fly out to right field. But then he promptly hit the next batter, his second of the inning, to load the bases. But the next batter popped out to the shortstop, securing the win.
“I was getting tired, but I just kept pitching and relied on my defense,” Moore said. “Yes, I had a no-hitter, but it was my defense that enabled me to do it.”
While Moore garnered seven strikeouts, the North Central defense retired seven Toledo Christian batters on groundouts and seven more on fly outs.
After the two teams were scoreless in the first two innings, North Central scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Kenneth Smeltzer hit an RBI single, and he then scored on a Toledo Christian error. North Central then added a run in the top of the fifth inning, on Cohen Meyers’ RBI single.
Meanwhile, Toledo Christian put a runner on second base with one out in the fourth inning, but a strikeout and a fly out to left field ended that threat.
In the fifth inning, Toledo Christian loaded the bases on an error, walk and a hit batsman. But a line out to the second baseman ended that threat.
Toledo Christian also threatened in the sixth inning, getting a runner to third base with two outs, after a walk, groundout, and wild pitch. But a groundout to the second baseman ended the threat.
“Sam did his job,” Hicks said, “He kept their hitters off balance and allowed the defense to make plays for him.”
“Tonight, we were playing a team that was ranked 20th in the state, so we weren’t expected to win. But that’s the way we like it.”
Meyers led North Central with three hits, all singles. North Central (12-6) advances to the Division IV district final on Friday night at 5:00 at Bryan against Edgerton, a 3-2 winner over Montpelier.
NORTH CENTRAL 002 010 0 – 3 8 1
TOLEDO CHRISTIAN 000 000 0 – 0 0 1
Records: North Central 12-6, Toledo Christian 17-7
WINNING PITCHER: Moore (7 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 7 strikeouts, 5 walks)
LOSING PITCHER: Gebhart (7 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 4 strikeouts, 0 walks)
LEADING HITTERS: (North Central) Meyers – 3 singles, RBI
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com