Groth hurls no-hitter against Sweet Home

Shane Groth pitched a no-hitter on the road against Sweet Home in the Outlaws' 6-0 shutout against the Huskies on Friday, April 20.

Groth struck out 10 batters and had no walks for his second game in a row. Of the 80 pitches thrown, 60 were strikes.

"Shane was just incredible," stated Coach Steve Hodges. "He had great command of his slider and had an overpowering fastball. We had a radar gun on him, and his pitches were between 81 and 83 mph, and he had one thrown at 86 mph. The only person to reach base was J. Rice in the first inning. He ran to first on three strikes, and Joey (Morgan) hit him in the foot and he was safe. Shane was just that one play away from a perfect game."

The game was scoreless until the fourth inning, and then Sisters' offense kicked into gear. Highlighting the inning were doubles from Joey Morgan, Jarden Weems and Bryce Alderman. All three of the line drives went 340 yards, all the way to the fence. Unfortunately, the only run scored was off Alderman's hit which drove in Morgan from second base for the score.

Sisters tacked on another run in the fifth. Nicky Blumm walked and then stole second. Weems hit an RBI single to score Blumm and give the Outlaws a 2-0 lead.

The Outlaws racked up four more runs in the seventh to record their seventh league win of the season. John Erickson led off with a soft line drive between first and second base and was able to score on a wild pitch. Justin Harrer and Dillon Witt had RBI singles; and Alderman, with two strikes against him, hit a curve ball for an RBI single and brought in Sam Calarco for Sisters' final run of the game.

Alderman went 2/4 with two RBI and Weems was 2/3 with an RBI.

Hodges told The Nugget where their point of emphasis will be as they head down the stretch.

"We've had a couple of games where we've not maximized our innings," said Hodges. "We need to execute better with our situational hitting, and we need to focus on getting better at that because down the line that will definitely come into play."

Two days earlier, the Outlaws beat Burns 8-5 in a non-league game at home.

Sisters jumped out quick and scored three runs in the first inning. Weems, Calarco and Alderman all connected for RBI singles.

Burns scored three in the third to tie it up at 3-3 and then scored two more in the top of the fourth to take the lead at 5-3.

Sisters tacked on one run in the bottom of the fourth to narrow Burns' lead to 5-4.

The Outlaws regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Eli Boettner and Morgan walked, and Calarco followed with a base hit up the middle to load the bases. Groth took the plate and drove in Boettner with a single. Aaron Selig and Blumm drove in Sisters' final runs of the inning and pushed the Outlaws to a 7-5 advantage. Sisters tallied their final run in the bottom of the sixth.

Blumm went a perfect 3/3 at the plate. Weems was 2/3 with two RBI and Calarco was 2/3 with an RBI.

Sisters is 7-0 in league and 11-3 overall. The Outlaws will play at home against Junction City on May 2, and at home against Sweet Home on Friday two days later.