After his team defeated Greenville Christian 2-1 Tuesday night, Deer Creek sophomore pitcher Bo Ray admitted to being a little nervous. Greenville Christian had just put the tying runner on third base, and it
was all coming down to this. His no-hitter was in doubt.
“It was a little nerve racking, but there was no way they were taking me out,” said Ray, moments after striking out the last batter to end the game.
Ray pitched all seven innings in his complete-game no-hitter. His game-ending strikeout was his 11th. .
Deer Creek coach Benny McLendon said he had complete confidence that his young sophomore pitcher could get the job done. During the seventh inning, the coach visited the mound and told Ray to relax.
“I told him that he is good enough and that he has good enough stuff to get us out of here with the win,” Coach McLendon said.
Ray and Greenville Christian pitcher Josh Martin were in a duel all night on a blustery evening at Ted Thompson Field on the campus of Greenville Christian. Martin pitched a complete game as well, striking out eight batters and giving up just three hits.
The Warriors scored their two runs in the first and second inning. They were scored by Brayden Smith and Steen Buchanan. Mason Smith hit into a fielder’s choice to drive home a run in the second inning. Buchanan, Clayton Kilgore and Zeb Wooley all collected a hit in the game.
The victory pushed Deer Creek’s record to 4-3 this year. GCS and Deer Creek, two conference opponents, are scheduled to play again this week at Deer Creek on Thursday, weather permitting.
The Saints’ record dropped to 1-8 with the loss, but this does not show how competitive Greenville Christian has been this year, said GCS coach Jon Reed McLendon.
“This puts us 0-5 in conference play,” coach Jon Reed McLendon said. “We have a young team, but we have competed even against the good teams like Benton Academy and Porter’s Chapel. We have always had that one inning where things fall apart, but tonight we played solid the whole game. Sometimes we get into the middle innings in a one-run ball game and we have a let down. We did a better job of staying in it.”
The GCS coach credited his pitcher, Josh Martin, with keeping his team in the ball game.
“Josh did a great job,” the Saints coach said. “He really competed and threw strikes. Sometimes when we didn’t make a play in the field, he continued to battle and pitched us out of it. I was really proud of him. He did a great job and battled and was in the strike zone all night.
