Baseball: Waubonsie Valley's Neville no-hits Metea Valley
Jason Neville didn't realize he had a no-hitter until he heard someone in the crowd mention it as he took the mound for warmups in the fifth inning.
It didn't matter to Waubonsie Valley's senior right-hander. He was solely focused on a still scoreless game.
With that focus intact through the seventh inning, Neville got the victory, the shutout and the no-hitter as the visiting Warriors beat Metea Valley 4-0 in DuPage Valley Conference action Thursday in Aurora.
The only thing standing between Neville and a perfect game was a second-inning error. In a 76-pitch effort with 5 strikeouts and no walks, he faced one batter over the minimum 21. Only one ball was hit to the outfield.
"All I knew was that I was in a close game and I couldn't give up any runs," Neville said. "My stuff's been better. Last week I thought my overall stuff was better, but I really located my fastball today. That was key."
Neville and Metea Valley starter Steven Anderson were locked in a scoreless tie as neither allowed a baserunner from the bottom of the third inning until the top of the seventh. That's when Waubonsie Valley (13-7, 8-6) finally broke through for all its runs.
Singles by Neville and pinch-hitter Casey Kemerling - and the third of Metea Valley's four errors - put runners on second and third with one out.
Pinch-hitter Chris Ralph drove in the first run with a fielder's choice, and then the fourth error brought home two more runs. Quinton Zielke's RBI single made it 4-0 - more than enough margin for Neville, who sent the Mustangs (10-11, 5-9) down in order capped by a game-ending strikeout.
"Neville threw a great game, but that game was us in a nutshell right now," said Mustangs coach Craig Tomczak. "We're just good enough to lose a close game late because we don't execute defensively. We probably should still be playing in a 0-0 game if we don't make some defensive mistakes."
Waubonsie Valley had chances to score in the first and third inning but both times the Warriors had a runner thrown out at the plate. Nick Price went 2-for-3 while Nick Santoro reached base three times.
"(Neville) just attacked the zone with the fastball early and then his off-speed working late," said Warriors coach Bryan Acevedo. "It's a deadly combo when you've got stuff like he has."
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