CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – April 26 is a day Clintondale senior pitcher Ethan Zabel won’t forget.
“Everything was clicking. I was striking batters out, we’re making plays in the field,” he said. “Toward the end of the game, I started to feel like ‘Wow, it’s close. I might be able to pull this off.’”
Ethan finished seven innings with 18 strikeouts, zero walks, a no-hitter. At the next game two days later, freshman pitcher Justyn Myers got the start and proceeds to throw one strike after another.
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“I didn’t think about it. I didn’t know I was throwing a no hitter and coach was like ‘Let’s go finish this no hitter,’” he said.
Justyn finished with his own no-hitter -- 11 strikeouts. That’s back-to-back no-hitters, both beat New Haven.
The Clintondale Dragon dominance does not end with baseball. Softball had its own no-hitter.
“Jazmyn started the game on pitching. She made one strikeout in the first inning, and she injured her hamstring. So I came in and pitched the next two innings,” said Kassidy Sackett.
Kassidy and Jazmyn Myers, who is Justyn’s sister, combined for a no-hitter to beat Madison, making it three Dragon no-hitters in three days.
“Definitely a big deal. They don’t happen often,” Kassidy said. “I’ve never had one, Jazmyn’s never had one and the boys neither have one. To have three in one week was crazy for all of us.”
“It was incredible. I just couldn’t believe it. It’s rare enough to one no-hitter and then we pulled off two. It’s a special feeling,” Ethan said.