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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Thursday, July 02, 2009 10:39 AM

Firestone tosses no-hitter in sweep of Rock Creek

By Greg Mast/Herald Sports Editor

Blake Firestone doesn’t waste any pitches. He goes right at the hitters.

He doesn’t try anything fancy. He mixes both of his pitches and stays around the plate.

The Ottawa American Legion AA baseball player held opposing hitters to one hit in the past 15 innings on the mound. During that span, he has 28 strikeouts.

Rock Creek hitters could not touch him Wednesday night in the first game of a doubleheader on the West diamond.

He threw a no-hitter and finished with 10 strikeouts in the 8-0 victory. The game went just five innings.

Ottawa completed the sweep with a 14-1 win in the nightcap that was stopped in the fourth inning.

Ottawa coach Shawn Herrmann likes Firestone’s approach.

“He is challenging every hitter,” the coach said. “That is what I want. He is throwing well. He is confident.”

Firestone allowed just one runner — a walk to lead off the game.

“The walk right off the bat was a disappointment,” Firestone said.

He said with Ottawa’s explosive offense, he’s confident in challenging the hitters.

“You can get away with a lot of mistakes,” he said.

Herrmann characterized Firestone as a baseball player who can play anywhere.

“He is a gamer,” Herrmann said.

The Ottawa offense was held in check early against Rock Creek as Ottawa scored single runs in the first and second innings.

Ottawa broke through for two in the fourth and ended the game with four runs in the fifth inning.

In the third, Dylan Nelson and Firestone had RBI singles. Errors and a hit batter opened the door for Ottawa in the fifth inning.

Firestone said teams may hold Ottawa down for awhile, but not for a whole game.

“In one of the innings, we will break out,” he said. “It is going to happen.”

Carson Dunlap had an RBI single and Spencer Hawkins plated two with a single.

Both players came off the bench and that was there only plate appearance.

The second game was all Ottawa. Ottawa batted around in all three frames. Ottawa scored four in the first, three in the second and seven in the third.

Ottawa cracked nine hits. Curtis Clayton went 3-for-3 with an RBI and scored two runs.

Hawkins ripped a three-run home run in the seven-run third inning. Jake Moore had two hits and an RBI. Blake Hiatt walked twice, smashed a triple, had two RBIs and scored three runs.

Connor Goedert, the winning pitcher, had a single and two RBIs. Adam Maxwell drove home two runs.

Ottawa (22-0) plays 6 p.m. today at home against Fort Scott.

Greg Mast can be reached at sports@ottawaherald.com. Comment on this story at ottawaherald.com.

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Firestone tosses no-hitter in sweep of Rock Creek

By Greg Mast/Herald Sports Editor

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.