“I usually don’t get the call to bunt very often, but during practice, we go over that a million times,” Wells said. Wells heard cheers behind him as reached first safely and realized what he’d accomplished. Rivara seemed to think it was going foul as well, pausing for a second before grabbing the ball and swiping behind him for a tag that came in a split second late. Catcher Jack Grasso drew a crucial walk to lead off the frame, allowing courtesy runner Brody Gargiulo (who was listed on the junior varsity roster to start the season) to take over.Įthan Wells laid down a bunt in front of the catcher, Rivara, and took off for first, thinking that the ball would likely roll foul. “We faced them earlier in the year and I didn’t do too well that time, so I just kind of cleared that out of my mind and it worked out.”įear began to creep into the minds of coaches and spectators that a lack of run support might threaten Austen’s gem, but the Panthers finally got a run across the plate in the bottom of the sixth. “I kind of just pictured myself going 1-2-3 every inning,” Austen said. He closed out the shutout one pitch shy of the state limit for high schoolers, striking out nine along the way. After losing it, he admitted that he could have thrown a better pitch, but there were 103 other pitches thrown throughout the afternoon that overshadowed that one.

Dom Rivara reached on a ball in play during the second inning as well, but the scoreboard read error instead of hit.Īusten said he wasn’t aware of the no-hitter until the bottom of the sixth. Senior left-hander David Austen was brilliant on the mound for CS Charter as he nearly threw a no-hitter, allowing a single hit in the top of the seventh. John Paul II Academy Eagles (14-10-1) in the early slot, 1-0.

The Coral Springs Charter Panthers (17-9) will face the North Broward Prep Eagles (21-4) in the 3A-12 district finals after both teams secured semifinal wins on Tuesday. Connor Cavo (99) went 5 1/3 innings strong for Saint John Paul II but still took the loss to Coral Springs Charter in the district semifinals.

One Way Out by Alan Paul