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When Nate Rivera hit the first batter with the first pitch of Monday’s game, the Putnam Science lefthander had a feeling what was going through his teammates’ minds.
“Everyone was thinking it was going to be one of those games,” said Rivera, who had two walks and the hit-by-pitch in the first four batters. “No one was thinking no-hitter.”
But…
Rivera settled down and struck out six over five hitless innings, then Cris Peguero needed just 10 pitches to get through a 1-2-3 sixth inning before Anthony Mena closed it out by also retiring the side in order in the seventh.
And what started inauspiciously ended with as the second no-hitter in PSA history and a 6-2 win over American International College JV.
“I wasn’t thinking about it at all,” Mena said. “I didn’t even know. When guys came out of the dugout, they were saying it was a combined no-hitter and I was like, ‘Really?’ It’s good though, because if you are thinking about, that’s when you’re not making pitches.”
Rivera retired 12 in a row after AIC scored its second run in the first inning, which came on an error (its other run came on a sacrifice fly), and he set down 13 of the last 14 batters he faced in his best outing of the season.
Enrique Diaz had an RBI double in the second inning and two-run double in the third, while Junior Mesa singled, tripled, and drove in two runs for PSA.
Unfortunately, the week turned sour after that though, as PSA dropped three games to two of New England powers over the weekend – 4-0 to No. 6 Cheshire Friday, then 10-0 and 11-2 to unbeaten No. 5 Austin Prep Saturday – in games that were much closer than the final score would indicate.
Cody Heselton was terrific against Cheshire, allowing just two runs (one earned) over six innings while striking out eight. PSA’s bats couldn’t do much though, getting only second-inning single from Enrique Diaz but nothing else the rest of the way aside from one walk.
Saturday’s first game at Austin Prep was 2-0 in the fourth inning when the host team blew it open with four runs. They did it with a single, walk, and bunt single before a wild pitch, two-run triple, and sacrifice fly. Ian Mihalopoulos pitched better than his final line.
The second game ended in lopsided fashion as well, again thanks in part to one big inning. Austin Prep had two outs and no one on base in the second inning before erupting for five runs on six hits and two walks. Junior Mesa and Young-Ha Yoon both had a pair of hits for PSA.
PSA’s soccer team got itself a big win Sunday, knocking off South Kent 1-0. Renan Mafra scored the goal off an assist from Geo Aniceto. Jose Romero played very well in the midfield for PSA, which rotated a lot of players from its second and third units throughout.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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