Sophomore Jacob Hough took a no-hitter into the seventh inning but gave up a single with one out in the final frame as Southwick (2-1) defeated visiting Sci-Tech (0-2) Friday afternoon by a score of 8-2.
Hough, who walked seven and struck out eight in his varsity pitching debut, ended up allowing two runs on two hits, but was able to settle down and induce a game-ending double play to leave Sci-Tech with the bases loaded.
“He struggled with his control a little bit, but I thought for his first start he did tremendously, not allowing a hit until the seventh,” Southwick coach Tim Karetka said. “I’m very happy with the start. Being able to fight through it, even though he gave up the no-hitter, he showed a lot of courage and guts to come through and still get the final outs.”
Southwick scored three runs in the home half of the third inning to break a 0-0 tie and go up 3-0. Ross Lebo doubled in Vinnie Fortini for the game’s first run, which was followed by run-scoring hits from Tommy Mahoney and Nick Fortini.
The Rams added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Austin Decosmo, and then went up 5-0 on a sacrifice fly by Nick Fortini in the fifth.
Southwick pushed its lead to 8-0 with a three-run sixth inning, with Lebo knocking in a pair on a double then coming around to score on a Mahoney single.
Hough, who had yet to allow a hit at this point, struck out a batter in the seventh before Justin Torres lined a single into left field for Sci-Tech’s first hit. Hough would allow one more hit, an RBI single to Carlos Gonzalez, but got Ivan Diaz to line into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded to cap off his complete-game victory.
Leading Southwick’s hitting attack were Lebo, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two doubles, and Nick Fortini, who went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Mahoney also finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Cameron Felix and Joe Kucienski chipped in with a hit apiece.
