AMHERST — The Amherst Regional baseball team fell victim to an outstanding pitching performance from Chicopee’s Jose Morales in a 2-0 loss, Wednesday at Stan Ziomek Diamond.
Morales went the distance for the Pacers (3-0), taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He allowed three walks, one hit and struck out seven.
Southpaw Luke Leonard (4⅔ innings, two runs, three hits, one walk, two strikeouts) took the loss for the Hurricanes (0-4).
Amherst coach Mike Prattico was impressed with Morales’ composure.
“He was changing his speeds, had a great fastball, he was commanding it well, and got us off balance with some breaking balls as well,” Prattico said. “He controlled the strike zone, attacked our hitters, he’s just a real good pitcher.”
Chicopee did all its damage in the top of the first. After Ramon Jimenez reached on an error and Mike Baran doubled, a wild pitch from Leonard plated Jimenez. Baran scored on another error two batters later, capping off the scoring for both sides.
Morales did not allow a hit through six innings, but Amherst’s J.B. Mills led off the seventh with a hard line drive that popped out of Pacers second baseman Darien DeJesus’ glove. The play was scored a hit, but three straight groundouts followed, sealing Amherst’s fate.
Mills was happy to break up the no-no, but acknowledged his team’s lapses on offense.
“I was just glad to get on base. We thought we could get a rally started, but they played great defensively all day,” Mills said. “We struggled at the plate. I thought we got better as the game went on, but you have to give (Morales) credit, he pitched really well.”
It was Morales’ first career start for the Pacers.
“I was just trying to stay confident, pound the zone,” the Chicopee senior said. “I was getting great advice, and trying to listen to it. Coach (Pat Garvey) kept telling me to stay confident, so I just kept doing my thing.”