Patriots need Xtras, complete no-hitter
- Updated: March 3, 2023
2023 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
ECS staff report
5Ashton McCurty: solo game-winning homer in 8th inning, pitched 5 no-hit innings.
CHULA VISTA – In 1959, Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates fired a perfect game for 12 full innings, but eventually lost on an unearned run in the 133th inning to the Milwaukee Braves.
Many of the old-timers attending Thursday’s (Mar. 2) Christian High baseball game at Chula Vista were thinking about Major League Baseball’s historic date after the Patriots threw a no-hitter against host Chula Vista through seven innings, but the contest remained scoreless and also needed to extend into extra innings.
Starting pitcher Ashton McCurty went five solid innings without yielding a basehit with seven strikeout. Peter Zacharzuk followed by pitching the next two frames to maintain the no-hit bid.
“Ashton was scheduled to pitch only four innings because of his pitch count, but he was throwing a perfect game, so we allowed him to pitch the fifth inning,” said Patriots head coach Mike Mitchell. “But in the fifth, he walked a batter, so we took him out.:”
However, the school’s historic event wasn’t decided until the 8th inning, when McCurty, now the shortstop, drove in the game’s lone run on a solo homer, then sophomore Luke Bailey fired a perfect 1-2-3 frame with a pair of shutout, allowing the Patriots to complete a 1-0 no-hit triumph over the Spartans.
McCurty led off the eighth by facing eight pitches — three for balls and fpur were fouled off — before clouting the ball over the left-field fence for a solo home run to leftfield.
“Ashton had a pair of solid at-bats with a double and the homer,” added Mitchell. “On the homer, he must’ve fouled off three or pitches, including twice on 3-2 pitches, before tagging that last pitch.”
The clout moved Zacharzuk into position for the pitching win, with Bailey, the new closer because of a laundry list ofinjuries to the Pats pitching staff, sandwiching his strikeouts around a weak grounder to first base,am Hunter Kaul.
While Monte Vista’s back-to-back shutouts in a carer feat for the school shutouts are old hat for a school which can recruit like Christian. Last season, 8 of the Patriots’ 22 wins were by shutout, including consecutive blankings on three occasions.
Chula Vista has not defeated Christian since 1993.
Christian continues tournament on Monday at San Marcos, starting at 3 p.m.
Quotes
Christian head coach Mike Mitchell:
“We’ll have to go with our young pitching because we won’t have Vaugn Major, out stud Akk-CIF pitcher from last season, pitching for us. He’ll be ablew to swing the bat, but he wont be pitching.”
Christian is actually missing two top pitchers this season, with three powerful team 00 San Marcos, St. Augustine and Francis W. Parker — slated for next week.
“We’ll just have to go with our young pitching and see how we do.”
Bailey took the mound to replace his older brother, Shane Bailey.
“Shane broke his collarbone while skiing around Christimas. We still don’t know when he will return. So we need to have the younger guys stepping up.”
