43
Devils’ Carkido notches another no-hitter
McDonald ace fans 17 in DIV sectional final
By STEVE WILAJ
MCDONALD
Ben Carkido finally got the run he was craving when McDonald’s Dylan Portolese scored on Garrett Mulrooney’s double in the bottom of the fifth inning of Wednesday’s Division IV sectional final against Southern.
The Blue Devils senior starting pitcher hadn’t allowed a hit through the first five frames, but — now with a one-run lead — he realized his biggest challenge awaited in the top of the sixth.
“That was the crucial inning to me because we scored our run and they had their 2-3-4 hitters coming up,” Carkido said. “I knew if I could get through those guys, the top of the seventh would be easier. And once I got past 2-3-4, I knew it wasn’t over yet, but I was really confident I could get it done.”
Carkido indeed retired the heart of the Indians’ order in the sixth before pitching a flawless seventh — bringing home a 1-0 win for fifth-seeded McDonald while tossing a no-hitter on 100 pitches. He struck out a career-high 17 batters in the process, notching his second no-hit bid in his last three starts.
“That was by far the best game I ever pitched,” said Carkido, who also no-hit Sebring on April 26 while striking out 11. “Going into it, I knew it was gonna be a battle. We really haven’t blew out a team yet this year. So I knew I had to pitch well to get it done because I knew they were pitching their best pitcher — and he pitched a great game, also.”
Domanick Michael struck out nine and allowed just six hits in six innings for Southern, but he couldn’t quite match Carkido’s dominance.
The Indians’ first batter of the game reached on an error, but was gunned down by McDonald catcher Joe Celli trying to steal second. Carkido allowed just one other batter to reach — a fourth-inning walk — as he was nearly flawless the entire afternoon.
“He was just spot on,” Blue Devils coach Bill Ifft said. “He was locating all of his pitches well. His curveball was locating. He just had total command of the game.”
Added Carkido: “When [Celli]’s back there, I have major confidence. I stuck a lot to my fastball. When I was ahead in the count I occasionally worked in a curveball, but it was mostly about the fastball.”
With the win, Carkido — who will play football at Grove City next fall — improved to 4-2 on the season while lowering his ERA to 2.06.
He’ll get the start in McDonald’s district semifinal matchup with second-seeded Jackson-Milton on at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Cene Park. The Bluejays have won both meetings so far this year.
“It’s all about confidence,” Ifft said. “If you have confidence, you’re gonna excel and he is definitely confident in what he’s doing. That’s why we’re going with him Tuesday.”
A third no-hitter in four games? Well that’s highly unlikely, of course. Still, Carkido knows the Blue Devils are confident right now — and he intends to keep leading the way.
“We’re playing well right now and still peaking,” Carkido said. “Me and [Mulrooney] both are feeling better on the mound.
“We’re the only seniors, so we talk almost every day about what needs to happen for us to keep moving on. I actually told him today, ‘If we don’t pitch well, it’s not gonna end well.’ So we know we have a lot riding on us.”