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| Brady Leonard (pictured) combined with Zach Hollingsworth for the season's first no-hitter in the 2020 D-III season. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Brady Leonard and Zach Hollingsworth teamed up for Simpson's first no-hitter since March 27, 2011 to split the series with Bethel on Wednesday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Storm (1-1) lost 9-6 against the Royals (1-3) to open its season in a tough ending, but Leonard and Hollingsworth worked together to grab Simpson's first victory of the year in the early morning hours of Thursday.
Kolton Arnold led the way with five hits for Simpson, Brady Held had four and Truman Schmitt tallied three base knocks to help the offense.
Leonard was tasked with starting the second game on the hill for head coach Nathan Roling's squad and provided the spark to end the late-night doubleheader on a high note.
Through the first four innings of work, the sophomore only allowed two batters to reach via walk. In the fifth, Leonard's performance was finally rewarded with some offense as Simpson grabbed a slim 1-0 tilt. TJ Stephenson drew a leadoff walk and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Luke Willis. After moving to third on a single from Ryan Willis, Noah Sacco delivered an RBI groundout to score Stephenson.
In the next inning, the Storm produced three hits and scored a run after Quinten Sefrit notched his second RBI of the night. Leonard's night was done after five innings and in came Hollingsworth to work the last two innings for the save. Hollingsworth gave up a one-out walk in the sixth, but sent the next five batters back to the dugout to secure the no-hitter.
The duo of Leonard and Hollingsworth combined for five strikeouts and four walks to help even the Storm's record. Arnold led the offense with two hits.
In the opener, the Storm got on the board early in the bottom of the first inning as Brandon Urias drove in Arnold and Held on a double. The duo of Arnold and Held pushed hits through the right side of the infield to get the rally started with two outs.
The momentum continued in the second after all-region Schmitt captured his first RBI of the season to move the lead to 3-0. In the third, Arnold had a one-out triple to get in scoring position, which he later scored on a groundout by Matthew Marquez. Sefrit recorded his first RBI in a Simpson uniform in the inning to make it 5-0.
The Royals rebounded in the fourth with two runs off of Held, who only allowed two hits up to that point and had four strikeouts. Sacco added an insurance run in the sixth to score Tyrese Moore from second to make it 6-2.
Bethel broke out the bats in the final inning for the comeback. After Held allowed two early runners, Brett Kauzlarich was called in for relief. The start to the season didn't go as planned as Mitch Butvilas connected on a three-run blast on Kauzlarich's first pitch to make it a 6-5 contest. With the bases loaded, the Royals tied the game after a ground ball ricocheted off of Kauzlarich. The visitors added three more runs to garner a three-run margin going into the bottom of the seventh.
Simpson produced a small rally in the final inning with two hits, but both runners were stranded. Held and Arnold both ended with three hits each, while Urias and Schmitt had two. Held finished with six strikeouts and allowed four runs in his sophomore debut.