He’s at it again.
American Legion Twins pitcher Joey Becher, who already had two no-hitters this year for Soldotna High School, tossed a no-hitter in his first start of the Legion season Saturday in a 6-1 conference victory on the road against Chugiak.
The Twins lost the nonconference contest 11-8 and are now 3-0 in the league and 4-1 overall.
Becher, a lanky right-hander, pitched all seven innings against the Mustangs, giving up an unearned run while walking eight and striking out seven.
“He wasn’t as sharp as I’ve seen him in the past,” Legion coach Robb Quelland said. “He didn’t let it get to him. He went out on the mound and performed for us.”
While Becher did issue the eight free passes, Quelland said it was the competition that made the no-no impressive.
Chugiak won the high school and Legion state titles in 2015, and finished second at the 2016 high school tourney one week ago.
“They’re good,” Quelland said. “It’s impressive to watch how disciplined their players were not only in the field but also up at the plate.
“They didn’t chase any bad pitches and worked the pitch count up.”
The Twins also were disciplined at the plate, drawing seven walks. That, along with five hits, was enough to more than support Becher.
Josh Darrow led the Twins at the plate by going 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI.
“We played the best ball we could play today,” Quelland said.
The coach also gave credit to catcher Kenny Griffin for the no-hitter, pointing out that Griffin also was behind the plate for Becher’s two no-hitters in high school.
In the 11-8 nonconference loss, the Twins were able to experiment with players pitching and playing different positions.
Mason Prior pitched two innings and gave up six runs — one earned — while Griffin gave up three unearned runs and Josh Darrow gave up two unearned runs.
At the plate, Paul Steffensen was 3 for 5 with two runs, Darrow scored two runs, Tyler Covey was 2 for 4 with two runs, and Justice Miller was 2 for 4.
The Twins stay on the road when they face East at 11 a.m. today.
