JAMESTOWN, Mo. - It's always tough for a pitcher in his first start of the season, but that didn't stop Jamestown's Christian DeVore, who pitched a no-hitter that propelled the Eagles over Otterville 12-0 in a five inning, run-ruled game.
"I went into the game with the mindset of throwing a no-hitter," DeVore said. "I felt that was a good starting point for pitching in my first game of the season. The ultimate goal is to shut them out completely."
DeVore struck out nine in five innings of work, but allowed six base runners on two walks, two hit-by-pitches, an error and a fielder's choice.
"He's not a usual pitcher for us," said Jamestown coach Jordan Hoecker. "He executed some pitches well and he hasn't had a lot of practice at it, at least in games. So it was good to see him out there and keep a good mind set."
The closest a runner was to scoring was in the fifth inning when Franklin Oswald reached third, but Jamestown (5-1, 2-1 in CCAA) already had a commanding 12-0 lead by that point. DeVore went on to strikeout the next batter to end the game.
"The curveball was on tonight," said DeVore. "I had a little bit of a slip up on the mound, but I felt solid."
The slip up DeVore is referring to is when he walked back-to-back batters in the second inning. At that point, Jamestown was only leading 3-0.
But even with the threat, the game never felt in question.
The first three out of four batters of the game crossed the plate for the Eagles, and then they scored seven in a row in an eight-run third inning. Another run in the fourth gave them their final score.
Garrett Wolfe led the offense with two home runs, batting 3-for-3 from the plate with five RBI and three runs scored. He also singled in the second, his first at-bat of the inning, and his second home run came in later in the inning, a three-run shot to right field. His first homer came in the first, a no-doubter over the left-center field fence.
"He's starting to really hit the ball," Hoecker said. "He knows what he needs to do with the ball and where to hit it. He has the potential to be a pretty dangerous hitter and he's really coming around."
Austin Flippin led off the game with a walk, and that set up Wolfe's first home run. After DeVore walked, Evan Knierim tripled to center, over the center fielder's head, to score Devore and take the 3-0 lead into the second.
Knierim was 2-for-2 from the plate with two RBI, and DeVore was 1-for-2 with a double, one RBI and two runs.
"We focus on trying to hit the ball and have the right approach at the plate," Hoecker said. "We try to focus on the count, and what we need to do in that situation. Keep it simple. See ball, hit ball."
In the third, Wolfe led off the inning with a single to right, and then DeVore doubled to score Wolfe. Knierim doubled to center to score DeVore and Garrett Jones singled to put runners on the corners.
Cole Theissen walked to load the bases with no outs. Jacob Gerlach reached on an error by the right fielder to score another run and keep the bases loaded. Then, Wyatt Hunziker walked to make it 7-0 and Flippin's sacrificed fly scored another. Wolfe came to the plate for the second time of the inning and hit a three-run shot to put Jamestown up 11-0.
Stephen LaFramboise pitched hit in the fifth and smoked a pitch to center field that bounced off the scoreboard for the team's third home run of the game.
"We played well," said Hoecker. "It was a game where we needed to show we can stay in mentally and we're getting better at it. That's our main focus, and we're getting a lot better at it."
The Eagles will travel to Sweet Springs today for a 5 p.m. contest and will host Versailles on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. in a doubleheader.