Listen Here
A look back at why game three was a historical one
By Martyce Kimbrough
Mark Delas was nothing short of impressive in his first start at pitcher for the University of Findlay Oilers.
The right-handed freshman pitcher managed to throw a shut-out and a no-hitter against Gannon University leading the Oilers to a 2-0 victory.
The no-hitter by Delas is the first for the Findlay Oilers since the 1996 season when the Oilers played the Tiffin Dragons and Jack Zaborowski held them hitless.
On his course to the memorable game, Delas struck out six hitters and walked one as he pitched all seven innings. He retired the first seven hitters he faced and then also retired the final ten batters in the game.
The only base runners to reach for Gannon came in a third inning error and a fourth inning walk.
“It feels great,” said Delas. “I found out that it was the first no-hitter in twenty years a couple of days after the game and I was very excited about it.”
It was during the game when Delas realized that he was on pace to throw a no-hitter.
“I realized I was throwing one when my friend Nick Niro brought it up to me,” said Delas. “It was around the fourth inning.”
Although the thought of that may cause some pitchers to feel nervous, Delas felt good about the situation.
“Actually I didn’t feel any pressure,” said Delas. “My arm felt incredible that day and all of my pitches were working. I just continued to attack hitters and not pitch around them.”
Teammates of Delas were just as excited to be a part of the game and witness history. Senior teammate, Jordan Garcia, was happy to see the game take place.
“It’s something you only see a couple times in your life as a baseball player and it’s just as impressive every time,” said Garcia. “It’s like the pitcher is invincible that day and everything goes right for them. It was an honor to witness history being made.”
Garcia and other teammates all noticed that there was a possibility of a no-hitter but none of the players spoke about it until it was final.
“The big thing in baseball is to never say someone has a no hitter going,” said Garcia. “You could tell people started noticing in the dugout but no one was saying anything until the last out was made and then we all just went crazy.”
