One of baseball's unwritten rules is don't tell a pitcher when he has a no-hitter going.
Thanks to the large scoreboard in left-center field that tracked runs, hits and errors, and a game lacking any other suspense, everybody in Madison Area Technical College's Robin Roberts Field knew that UW-Platteville's Justin Athey was working on a gem.
"It was harder because you're more aware of what's at stake," Athey said. "I didn't want to jinx myself. I just tried to keep my concentration."
The sophomore from Dodgeville High School came within one strike of recording just the second no-hitter in the Pioneer record books. With two outs in the top of the seventh, however, UW-Superior's Trevor Carlson beat out a chopped infield hit on a full count for the first UWS hit in the game.
Athey retired the next batter, completing the 11-0 victory and one of the best pitching performances in UWP history. The Pioneers then took the second game by an 11-1 score. Both games ended after the seventh inning due to the 10-run rule.
"It became a goal as we got further into the game," Athey said of his no-hit bid. "I tried to complete that no-hitter at the end, but it was kind of tough. We won, and that's the most important thing."
Athey, a sophomore from Dodgeville High School, retired 19 of the first 24 batters he faced. Three Yellowjackets reached on errors, one on a walk and one a hit batsman. Athey retired the rest, mostly by keeping the ball on the infield. Only four Yellowjackets hit the ball to the outfield all game.
"I think that's the best complete-game I've ever thrown," Athey said. "I had good support behind me."
The Pioneers erased any doubt about the outcome early, scoring two in the first and eight in the second. Gabe Neitzel hit two triples in the second inning alone, tying an NCAA Division III record.
All that was left for suspense was whether Superior would get a hit. Athey began the seventh with a fly out and strike out before Carlson hit a ball in the hole between first and second. First baseman Mike Luchterhand made a nice back-handed play, but the speedy Carlson beat the throw to the bag. Athey then induced a ground-ball out to finish with a one-hitter.
"The fastballs were working, and the curveballs were dropping for strikes, which is always a good sign." Athey said. "(Catcher) Mike Flood did a real good job back there."
The Pioneers pounded out 14 hits, including eight extra-base hits. Six different players hit doubles, including Neitzel, who added one to his two triples.
Scott Dybevik (third inning) and Ross Bennett (fourth) each had two-run triples in the nightcap for the Pioneers. Ryan Slaght pitched six innings of three-hit ball, and Kyle Brudos pitched a perfect seventh. Slaght was coming off a complete-game vs. UW-La Crosse Wednesday but showed no ill effects as he kept up a weekend of dominating Pioneer pitching.
Six UWP pitchers held the Yellowjackets to 12 hits and one run over 30 innings. The Pioneers outscored their northern opponents by a 41-1 count and out-hit them .352 to .114.
Flood hit .533 over the weekend series, while Bennett and Jason Watson were each at .429, and Matt Huckstep hit .389.
The Pioneers climbed back over the .500 mark, improving to 10-9 overall and 4-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UWS fell to 3-17, 0-8.
Platteville is back in action Tuesday for a single-game at the University of Dubuque, beginning at 1 p.m. The Pioneers then play a four-game set Thursday and Friday at UW-Whitewater, the defending national champions. Both doubleheaders begin at 1 p.m.
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