BETHANY, W.V. -- Freshman pitcher Ben Atkinson (Syracuse, N.Y. / Nottingham) tossed a no-hitter on Saturday, but the better performance, perhaps, came from his battery mate, freshman Jon Morrison (Macedon, N.Y. / Pal-Mac).
Morrison, making his first collegiate start, went four-for-four with five RBI and called the no hitter from behind the plate in the 8-0 win. Another freshman, Josh Koepsell (Lewiston, N.Y. / Lewiston-Porter), got the win in Game 2, going four scoreless and surrendering three hits, before giving way to sophomore Steve Zaprowski, who earned a three-inning save.
Atkinson, making his fourth career start, had dominant stuff, but also had to battle through six walks and two hit batters. He finished with six strikeouts and improves to 2-1 on the season.
It was the first no hitter for Fredonia since Angelo Sciandra and Zach Murray combined to shut out Skidmore on March 16, 2012 in Fort Myers, Fla.
A pair of defensive plays preserved the no-no.
In the second inning, firstbaseman Alexio Medina made a diving stab on a line shot. In the fourth, secondbaseman Ciro Frontale, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, made a diving stop and throw.
The Devils scored a run in the first. After three straight singles, Zaprowski worked a walk to drive in the first run.
Morrison made it 2-0 in the fourth with an RBI single.
Morrison upped the lead to 4-0 with a two-run double in the sixth. Following a double by Frontale, Morrison would score on a wild pitch.
In the seventh, a double by James Krolikowski drove in Matt Wilhelm. Morrison then stepped up and drove in another pair on a base hit to give the 8-0 final.
Game 2 saw Koepsell strike out four over the first four innings while allowing only one walk and no runs to earn his first collegiate win.
Offensively, the Devils could not get on the board early despite several hard hit balls. They finally broke through in the fifth and sixth innings with three runs in each frame.
In the fifth, Krolikowski singled and stole second. Sherman singled him home for the game's first run. Frontale and Medina singled to load the bases before Wilhelm delivered a two-out, two-strike base hit to plate a pair and make it 3-0.
In the sixth, Patrick Sheehan singled to start the inning. After two outs, three straight doubles accounted for a trio of runs. Sherman, Frontale and Quinn Danahy were credited with the two baggers.
Offensively, Frontale finished the day with four hits, including three doubles. Sherman, Medina and Wilhelm had three hits apiece. Zaprowski walked three times and roped a single for a perfect day at the plate in Game 1.
Fredonia had 26 hits in the doubleheader.
Bethany falls to 6-18.
The Devils, winners of five straight, even their record at 14-14. The take on Mt. Aloysius in Altoona, Pa. Sunday at 1:00.