Two Beaver County schools toss back-to-back no-hitters on same day

The odds of throwing a no-hitter in the game of baseball and softball are fairly slim. But two no-hitters in back-to-back games on the same day in a doubleheader? Well, those chances of that happening are almost zero.

But on Monday, two teams in the Beaver Valley accomplished that feat with one team having the same pitcher throw in back-to-back games and both teams getting two victories against the Aliquippa Quips.

OLSH's SCHULZ AND HUDAC GO BACK-TO-BACK

OLSH pitcher Iseia Schulz went six complete innings allowing just two free passes while getting every single out by way of a strikeout.

Following the no-hitter from Schultz, Sean Hudac tossed five no-hit innings in the Chargers 15-0 victory over the Quips allowing just one free pass and fanning 10 batters in the win.

OLSH’s manager Phil McCarren reflected on his two pitchers' impressive feats after both recorded double-digit strikeout numbers in the no-hitter.

“Usually as a coach, this [no hitters] is not something that I always pay attention to during the game,” McCarren said. “Sometimes we will have a pitcher that will have a no-hitter through three or four innings and I don’t even realize it so this was kind of the same thing. It wasn’t until the fourth inning of the first game that I realized that he still didn’t allow a hit and it wasn’t until after the game that I realized that he struck everyone out which is pretty rare.

"Then in the second game when Sean threw, I thought early on there would be a chance after the first or second inning and we scored a lot of runs and got over 10 runs. I was excited for our team because usually it is hard to get one but to get two in one day, is pretty rare.”

After being the mainstay of the rotation throughout his freshman and sophomore years, Schulz was nursing a shoulder injury throughout the ladder stages of the offseason and into the first month of the regular season.

In the no-hitter that he tossed, it was just the second start that the hurler made in his junior season, which made the outing even more memorable.

“In the first month of the season, he was pretty much unavailable as a pitcher and he was only making his second start of the year so I was happy for him because he is starting to round into form and throw the way that he is capable of," McCarren said.

Unlike Schulz, Hudac is not one of the mainstays of the OLAH rotation, but he is one of the top four options that OLSH has at its disposal to use throughout the season.

But even though he's not one of the Chargers' main starters, Hudac made the most of his opportunity and continued to solidify OLSH’s deep pitching staff.

“Sean has had a couple of outings for us this year and he has done a good job for us,” McCarren said. “Right now, Sean is not at the top of our rotation, so I was just really happy for him to achieve this and get the opportunity to start that day and make the most of it and now has a no-hitter in his high school career.”

NEW BRIGHTON'S ALAKSIN GOES 2-FOR-2

New Brighton senior Jenna Alaksin was dominant for the Lions as she tossed back-to-back no-hitters in back-to-back games for the Lions on senior day as they defeated the Aliquippa Quips on Monday.

Even more fitting for the senior is that she tossed both no-hitters on New Brighton native Terry Francona’s birthday.

Lions manager Mike Bridges could see the no-hitter forming from the very beginning of the game just based on it being senior night and the way that Alaksin has pitched.

“I could see it right from the start,” Bridges said. “She’s a senior. It is just one of those games where it happened to be senior night the one game that the seniors just have to lock in on which just gave her even more of an edge.”

Throughout her career at New Brighton, Alaksin has been a major component of this New Brighton team throughout her career, but even more so this season as she was the lone pitcher on the pitching staff.

Bridges was thankful for the senior’s contributions and her ability to carry a huge load on her shoulders throughout the season.

“She has been a huge piece to the puzzle,” Bridges said. “From her freshman year to senior year, she has put in a lot of work. Especially now in her senior year, she is the only pitcher that we have. I have to give the kid a lot of credit, she has pushed the gauntlet. We have two games to go in the season and pitching is one of the hardest things to do now the game has turned into a pitcher and catcher game but you have to have a pitcher, a catcher and a defense to back you up and that's what she had on Monday.”

The baseball and softball regular seasons wrap up next week with several Beaver Valley schools still vying for playoff spots.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Two Beaver County schools toss back-to-back no-hitters on same day