Notre Dame pitcher Alex Darras battled hard but came out on the losing end of a 1-0 decision to Chattanooga Christian in a District 7-AA contest played Monday evening at CCS.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Zach Mercer has won some big baseball games during his career as a pitcher for the Chattanooga Christian Chargers, but none have been any bigger than the 1-0 victory over visiting Notre Dame Monday afternoon.
And he was almost perfect as only a fourth-inning walk to opposing pitcher Alex Darras and another walk to Quinton Buckman in the seventh kept it from being a perfect game.
He still finished with a no-hitter as the Chargers improved to 20-2 overall and 14-0 in District 7-AA.
Notre Dame did have three other base runners as the Chargers had three errors along the way, but Mercer didn't get rattled as he went the distance for the winners and responded in a positive way following every miscue to prevent any further damage.
"I didn't even know it was a no-hitter until it was over," the 18-year-old son of Aaron and Jennifer Mercer said following the game.
"It was probably and 8 or a 9 as far as my performance was concerned, but the guys behind me played well and it's easy to pitch like that with a good defense. But it was a huge win for us. It was good to keep winning and to keep our district record perfect, but I give a lot of credit to my catcher Josh Taylor as he did a good job of keeping me under control and he did a great job behind the plate.
"But location was a key for me today. And I'm not sure if I've thrown another no-hitter before, but this is my first one, I think," he added.
Justin Wheeler led off Chattanooga Christian's half of the first inning by beating out an infield hit. He stole second and was well on his way to swiping third before the throw from the Irish catcher sailed into left field as Wheeler scampered home with the run.
That turned out to be the only run of the game and the only one Mercer needed.
Notre Dame's Quinton Buckman reached on an error to start the second, but was erased on a 6-4-3 double play. Andrew Lewis reached on another Charger infield bobble with two outs in the fifth, but Mercer coaxed Joel Dossett into a pop to second to end that threat.
Then in the seventh when almost everyone except Mercer was thinking about the no-hitter, Darras reached on an error and went to second when Buckman walked, but that's how it ended as Mercer struck out the next two and got Andrew Lewis on a liner to left to end the game.
"We always play close games with Notre Dame. I'm just glad this one didn't go extra innings," said CCS coach Joel Johnson while his players were doing their post-game duties.
"I think I've seen Zach pitch better, but he always responds in tight situations. I loved the fact that he didn't even know he had a no-hitter until I congratulated him on it when the game ended. But he had to be that good because Alex Darras pitched great too.
"We never got our bats going, but the ball got away in the first and we were able to take advantage," Johnson said in reference to the game-winning run.
Notre Dame is now 10-7 overall and 4-4 in district play. While the Chargers have first place in the district all locked up, it's still a battle for the next three spots and those will be determined this week.
Irish coach Greg Elie knows that it's hard to win when you don't score and that becomes a monumental challenge when you don't get any hits.
"Both of those guys pitched their tails off. I think that may have been Alex's best game ever, but we just have to execute and we didn't tonight. We had guys in scoring position, but weren't able to get the bunt down in the seventh with two men on. But we just have to be more aggressive at the plate and we just didn't put enough balls in play today," he added.
While Wheeler had the first hit for the Chargers, Mercer led off the fourth with a single before getting thrown out trying to steal second. And Jon Hundley had the third hit for the Chargers to lead off the sixth. Wheeler dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt, but Hundley was thrown out easily at third when he didn't stop at second.
Mercer finished with seven strikeouts and two walks while Darras struck out nine while allowing three hits. He did hit one batter, but had no walks.
Notre Dame stranded four runners, including two in the seventh, while the Chargers left one man standing.
NOTRE DAME 000 000 0 -- 0 0 2
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 100 000 x -- 1 3 3
Darras and Johnson; Mercer and Taylor.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)
Chattanooga Christian's Zach Mercer not only pitched a near-perfect game against district rival Notre Dame, but proved he could field the position, as well.
photo by Dennis Norwood