Link Report for Games of Wednesday, April 14th

[MassBrew]

Swinging and missing

Carolina combo tosses first no-hitter against Stars since 1996

By MARK McCARTER

Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com

 

There were two conga lines of congratulations, Carolina players moving in opposite directions between the dugout and the pitcher's mound. Somewhere along the way, catcher Josh Willingham came upon his manager, Ron Hassey.

 

"Hass, ever caught one of those?'' Willingham, the Florence native and former University of North Alabama star, said with a laugh.

 

"One of those'' being a no-hitter, which a pair of Mudcats pitchers - Trevor Hutchinson and Kevin Cave - had just perpetrated on the Huntsville Stars Wednesday afternoon, the opener of a 5-0, 5-1 doubleheader sweep.

 

Willingham already knew Hassey's answer, and you can, too, in case it comes up next time in Trivial Pursuit. Hassey is the only man to have caught two perfect games in the big leagues, by Cleveland's Len Barker in 1981 and Montreal's Dennis Martinez in 1991.

 

For all of Hassey's history, he is more a pragmatist than a sentimentalist. This is not a man you imagine hanging around the Hallmark store, trying to pick out just the perfect card.

 

After Hutchinson completed the sixth inning, Hassey walked over to him in the dugout and said, "Nice job. You're done.''

 

What?

 

Yank The Rolling Stones off the stage before they can do "Jumpin' Jack Flash"? Hold an opera, and skip the fat lady? Have CBS change its top show to "50 Minutes"?

 

Turns out, Hutchinson was on a pitch count of 75 to 80 pitches. He reached 72 after six innings.

 

"It's so early in the season and it was a close game. I totally understand,'' Hutchinson said.

 

"We're in the first month of the season, it was his second outing, it was a seven-inning game (as doubleheader games are in the Southern League), there's no reason to risk it,'' Hassey said.

 

As things happen around Joe W. Davis Stadium, both the scoreboard - to be replaced in mid-May - and public address system zonked out in the first game, so many were unaware of the no-hitter in progress. In fact, there was a caravan of buses with school kids leaving in the seventh inning, perhaps headed back to readin', writin' and 'rithemetic, but deprived of history.

 

Hassey called upon Cave, who couldn't have been more nervous than his catcher. "I knew what was going on. I was thinking basically, 'Don't call the wrong pitch.' I had never been in that situation before,'' Willingham said.

 

After Cave walked Rickie Weeks to lead off the seventh, he retired Prince Fielder and Brad Nelson on bouncers to first and then struck out Chris Barnwell to wrap up the no-hitter.

 

Hutchinson, whose brother Chad is the Dallas Cowboys' backup quarterback, admits to being the restless type. He had gone to the clubhouse to have an ice bag on his shoulder, but watched the final three outs from the steps of the runway leading to the dugout.

 

Hutchinson has pretty much clinched a spot on Huntsville's All-Time All-Opponent team. Witness his last three appearances against the Stars:

 

6 2/3 innings of three-hit shutout pitching in Game 1 of the 2003 Southern League Championship Series

 

Five innings of three-hit pitching, with one run allowed, to win the final game of the playoffs and earn the series MVP honors (plus a pair of hits himself)

 

Six innings of no-hit pitching on Wednesday with five strikeouts

 

His killer pitch is a sinker. "He's got that one pitch that nobody really, probably only four or five starters in the big leagues have, that real good sinker,'' said Hassey.

 

"He'll be a sinker-slider guy till he dies,'' said Willingham, whose seventh-inning two-run home run was one of three on the day against the Stars.

 

Perhaps it's only modesty - or perhaps something even more alarming for the linguini bats in the Stars' rack - but Hutchinson didn't think he had his best stuff.

 

"I was battling myself more than I was thinking about a no-hitter,'' he said.

 

This was the first Southern League no-hitter since Orlando's Chad Gaudin's perfect game last July 15, and the first for Carolina since April 9, 2003, when Ryan Snare, Steve Kent and Ryan Baker combined to beat Mobile. The last time the Stars were no-hit was June 1, 1996, by Chattanooga's Travis Buckley. The Stars haven't had a no-hitter since Tanyon Sturtze on June 13, 1993, against the Lookouts.

 

For a long while, it seemed a double no-hitter might occur. Barnwell finally popped a fourth-inning single in the second game of the doubleheader, ending a string of 14 2/3 hitless innings, going back to Monday's loss. The Stars (3-4) sent 54 men to the plate between base hits.

 

Thus a home stand that began with such promise ended with four-game losing streak and a sweep by the Mudcats.

 

The Stars finish their first seven games with a .201 team batting average. Weeks is 0-for-13 since his 6-for-8 start. Fielder has three hits in 23 at-bats. Tony Gwynn Jr. is 3-for-20. Jason Belcher is 1-for-14.

 

"It's frustrating for them, but I expected this,'' said manager Frank Kremblas. "It's a big adjustment. I was just in (the clubhouse) and I asked Rickie and Tony and Prince, 'What did you guys learn?'

 

"They didn't answer what I'm thinking, that they've got to be ready to go every time. It's not going to get any easier.''

 

Well, yes it will, in a way.

 

The Stars won't face Trevor Hutchinson, at the earliest, before Aug. 5.

[MassBrew]

The Huntsville "no-hit" box score is finally online in detailed form (David Weiser had it first on his Huntsvlle site http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ):

 GAME DATE: 4/14/04 CAR at HVL CAROLINA 5 AT HUNTSVILLE 0 DH GAME #1 YTD YTD CAROLINA AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG E.Reed CF 4 1 3 0 .450 A.Gwynn CF 3 0 0 0 .200 J.Wilson SS 2 1 0 1 .167 R.Weeks 2B 1 0 0 0 .353 J.Willingham CAT 3 1 2 2 .357 P.Fielder 1B 3 0 0 0 .118 J.Stokes 1B 4 0 0 0 .286 B.Nelson LF 3 0 0 0 .333 J.Dillon 3B 1 1 1 0 .467 C.Barnwell 3B 3 0 0 0 .059 C.Ambres LF 3 0 1 1 .333 A.Delgado CAT 2 0 0 0 .111 J.Kavourias RF 3 0 0 0 .235 J.Belcher RF 2 0 0 0 .091 J.Goelz 2B 3 1 1 1 .353 E.Cruz SS 2 0 0 0 .357 T.Hutchinson PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 M.Ford PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 P.Magness PH 1 0 0 0 .200 P.Stewart PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Cave PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Raburn PH 1 0 0 0 .000 R.Rivard PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 26 5 8 5 TOTALS 21 0 0 0 CAROLINA 1 0 0 0 0 1 3- 5 8 1 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 2 E--J.Dillon, A.Delgado, E.Cruz. DP--CAROLINA 0, HUNTSVILLE 2. LOB-- CAROLINA 5, HUNTSVILLE 2. 2B--C.Ambres (3). HR--J.Willingham (3), J.Goelz (1). SB--E.Reed (3), C.Barnwell (1). CS--J.Wilson, R.Weeks. HBP--J.Dillon. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA CAROLINA T.Hutchinson (W,2-0) 6.0 0 0 0 1 5 0 1.64 K.Cave 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 9.00 HUNTSVILLE M.Ford (L,1-1) 3.0 4 1 1 3 2 0 1.13 P.Stewart 3.0 1 1 1 0 2 0 4.50 R.Rivard 1.0 3 3 3 1 1 2 23.14 HB--P.Stewart. WP--M.Ford. SO--E.Reed, J.Wilson, J.Stokes, J.Kavourias, P.Magness, A.Gwynn, B.Nelson, C.Barnwell, E.Cruz 2, M.Ford. BB-- J.Wilson 2, J.Willingham, J.Dillon, R.Weeks 2.