Austin Conour throws no-hitter for Atwater against Buhach Colony

Austin Conour didn’t have a clue why Atwater High School baseball coach Jarrod Pimentel was jumping up and down as he sprang out of the dugout.

The Falcons senior had just thrown a no-hitter – though he seemed to be last on his team to know it – after Atwater defeated host Buhach Colony 7-0 on Thursday afternoon.

“I didn’t know I was throwing a no-hitter the whole game,” said Conour, just before getting doused with ice water after the game. “I’m walking off the field and I see Pimentel jumping up and down and I’m thinking, ‘What is going on?’”

For Conour, who pitched around three walks and a hit batter, it was probably better not to know.

The right-hander had a no-hitter going against Tokay earlier this season, and the Falcons players broke the unwritten rule against talking about the no-hitter in the dugout. Of course, he eventually allowed a hit.

This time, the dugout was silent.

“There was zero talking in the dugout,” Pimentel said. “I had to double check my stats and scorebook to make sure. None of the guys were talking. Everybody kept quiet and Austin is Austin. He didn’t know anything about it.”

Offensively, the Falcons (15-9, 7-5 Central California Conference) struck early against BC ace Andrew Mitchel with two runs in the first inning.

Both runs came with two outs as Omar Sanchez singled in Jesus Duran and Wyatt Pimentel followed with a double to plate Sanchez.

“I think coming from behind on Tuesday sparked us today,” Jarrod Pimentel said. “The kids realized we didn’t come out fired up the other day. We came out with a lot more energy today and more focus today.”

The Falcons tacked on a pair of runs, again with two outs, in the third inning. Pimentel singled in Conour, then Tony Romo added another single that was going to load the bases, but when the throw from the outfield sailed to the backstop, Duran was able to score to give Atwater a 4-0 lead.

Duran added a two-run triple in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 6-0. Duran and Pimentel each had three hits and combined for four RBIs.

The win keeps the Falcons tied with Merced for third place. Atwater will host Buhach Colony (11-13, 3-9) at 7 p.m. Friday and then finishes with two games against Merced next week.

Merced 15, Golden Valley 2 in Merced – Nick Camper went 3 for 4 with two runs and Lawrence Anderson drove in three runs as the Bears (10-14, 7-5 CCC) routed the Cougars (2-22, 0-12).

The two teams will finish their three-game series at 7 p.m. Friday with the Nannini Game at Merced High School.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Austin Conour throws no-hitter for Atwater against Buhach Colony."