Eagles split Ascension Christian series, Hurst throws no-hitter – Post South

Andrew Greenagreen@postsouth.com

St. John Eagle pitcher Dylan Hurst earned his first career no-hitter in the second game against Ascension Christian on Thursday and was just one walk away from a perfect game.

St. John opened the district series on the road against Ascension Christian on Tuesday, but came up just short of a victory 3-5.

Both teams blanked the first two innings. The Lions were the first to put runs on the board and racked up three in the bottom of the third. St. John responded with a run in the top of the fourth, but Ascension Christian added two more to the lead in the bottom. AC lead SJHS 5-1 heading into the fifth.

Both teams blanked the fifth and sixth innings, and St. John put on two more runs in the top of the seventh, but failed to close the gap and came up short 3-5 in their district road game.

Tre Dupont, Ben Bucher and Landon LeBlanc each racked up a hit in the win. Dupont and Dylan Hurts each totaled one RBI.

LeBlanc pitched six innings and racked up 20 first pitch strikes and four strikeouts.

The Eagles entered into Thursdays home game tied for second place with rivals Ascension Catholic and Ascension Christian and needed to pull out a victory to claim a one game lead over each school.

And pull out a victory they did as pitcher Dylan Hurst earned himself his first career no-hitter and was one walk away from throwing the parishs first perfect game of 2017.

Hurst racked up 10 first pitch strikes and three strikeouts in the district win. LeBlanc and Hurst each earned a pair of hits. LeBlanc totaled two RBIs and Reese Barrilleaux earned one.

The Eagles racked up three runs in the first, two in the second and the third and closed with four in the fourth for their fourth district win of the season. They are currently 4-1 and trail district leader Kentwood at 6-0.

Ascension Christian is a fundamental team that is competitive, head coach Chris Harrell said. Their ace is good and keeps hitters off balance. He has a district win against us and Ascension Catholic.

Kentwood looks to be a competitive team sporting an 11-3 record and undefeated in district.

The Eagles will look to close the gap on the Kentwood lead next week when they open the district series at home on March 28 and finish on the road March 30.

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Eagles split Ascension Christian series, Hurst throws no-hitter - Post South