Anderson’s No-Hitter Clinches Top Seed For Heritage In District 5A-16

Judging by the way Shaun Anderson threw in the bullpen before Monday’s big district game against Pompano, American Heritage head coach Bruce Aven thought his team could be in for a long night. Apparently, what happens in the bullpen, stays in the bullpen.

Anderson shrugged off some early command issues and baffled Pompano hitters for seven innings, throwing a no-hitter to help the Patriots clinch the top seed in District 16-5A with a 9-0 victory over the Golden Tornadoes. Anderson would have had himself a perfect game had he not hit the second batter of the game, Shaw Pinnell.

“Shocking,” said Aven after the game. “He looked terrible in the ‘pen. He was all over the place, and then his first couple of pitches he barely reached home plate. But Shaun’s a guy that once he gets settled in, he just keeps challenging you and challenging you with his fastball. His curve ball wasn’t working tonight, but his fastball and slider kept him dialed in. He was outstanding.”

The Patriots got all the runs they would need (four) in the second and third innings with the help of two walks and two hit-by-pitches. It was the fifth inning, however, that showed why this team is one of the most dangerous in the country offensively. What started out innocently, ended in a five-hit barrage that led to three insurance runs.

After the first two batters struck out, Brandon Lopez singled and Zack Collins doubled to right-center, driving in Lopez. Danny Zardon followed with an RBI single of his own, as did Esteban Puerta. Zardon had three RBI on the day, and Puerta finished the evening 2-for-3 with a walk, a run, and an RBI. Lopez scored three runs, while getting on base all four times he stepped to the plate.

The Patriots added two runs in the sixth, and from there, the only drama left was whether Anderson would complete the no-hitter. In the seventh, Heritage fans received a scare when Pinnell lofted a flair to left-center. Patriots center-fielder Gabby Aurrecoechea, however, came out of nowhere to make the play of the game, a diving catch. From there, Anderson ensured there would be no more drama when he struck out the final two Golden Tornado hitters. Anderson finished the game with 10 strikeouts, and he had an explanation for his poor bullpen session before the game.

“I’ve been trying something new the past few days, and I tried it out there in the ‘pen, and it didn’t work, so I just went back to what I knew how to do once the game started,” Anderson said. “I had my defense behind me, and my catcher Zack (Collins) helped me a lot throughout the game.”

When asked what point in the game he became aware of the no-hitter, he pointed to late in the game.

“Probably in the fifth inning. That was when coach asked me how much longer I could go, and I told him ‘I want this game.’ From there, I needed to focus in and get it done. I felt good out there.”

Anderson also pitched the Patriots’ first game against Pompano this season, and in that game, the Golden Tornadoes had several offensive rallies. Preparation was a key to not repeating that performance.

“This game, I knew what every batter had done last time we played,” Anderson said. “I studied the charts, and we pitched to their weaknesses. I was able to hit my spot, and everything worked out.”

American Heritage will go into the district tournament as the top seed, and despite two losses to the Patriots, Pompano head coach Ryan Combs still believes his team can win the district title.

“You can’t give a good team like that extra base-runners and extra outs,” Combs said. “We’ve kind of known all season long that we were going to be the one or two seed, and that they were going to be our competition. We can play with them. There’s a couple of things we need to sure up before we see them again, but as far as we’re concerned, they can have the first two, we’ll take the next two. Those are the two that are the most important, so we’ll see what happens.”

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