League City opened the rain-delayed ALWS with a pitching gem against the first team ever in the series from Wyoming.
Jacob Cyr admits he doesn’t follow baseball’s superstitious protocol.
Of course, when you set history in the opener of the 2023 American Legion World Series, who’s going to mind how you get there.
Not Cyr and certainly not his League City (Tex.) Post 554 teammates after Cyr’s no-hitter led them to a 4-0 victory over Cheyenne (Wyo.) Post 6 on Thursday in the rain-delayed opener of the 96th ALWS.
“I’m not going to lie,” Cyr said when he asked if he was aware of his no-hitter. “I was watching the scoreboard every inning. But nobody was talking to me about it, so I just kept it to myself.”
Cyr became only the third pitcher in ALWS history to throw a no-hitter. Cyr joined Gene Guerriero of Staten Island, N.Y., in 1968 and Rich Schroeder of Santa Monica, Calif., in 1976 in the record books, and is the first to throw a no-hitter at Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.
Like Cyr, Guerriero threw an opening-round no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over East Springfield, Mass., on Aug. 29, 1968, for a Staten Island team that eventually finished 4th in that year’s ALWS.
Schroeder needed 10 innings for his 1-0 no-hit victory over Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Post 5 on Sept. 3, 1976, when he outdueled future major league All-Star Mike Boddicker in a second round contest in a tournament Santa Monica would eventually win.
Both of the previous no-hitters were played in Manchester, N.H. and Cyr’s no-hitter comes in the fifth year American Legion Baseball altered its full game from nine innings to seven.
It was Cyr’s second no-hitter in three weeks — he no-hit Laredo in the first game of the Texas state tournament — and his coach, Ronnie Oliver, felt good about his right-hander’s chances early in Thursday’s game.
“After the second inning to be honest,” Oliver responded to a question about when he knew Cyr was on his game. “When you put that kid on the mound, you know he’s a battler and nothing fazes him. And when you see that early, you know he’s going to be tough to beat.”
Cyr’s effort saw him retire 21 of 22 batters as he allowed a leadoff walk to open the fourth inning.
The closest Cheyenne came to getting a hit came on Nolan Horton’s sinking liner to centerfield that was caught on a diving grab by League City’s Kyeler Thompson.
League City gave Cyr all the support he would need with two runs in the first inning on Brice Smith’s 2-run double. A fielding error allowed Post 554 to add its third run in the third inning and Smith’s two-out RBI single accounted for the final run.
Thompson and Smith had two hits apiece to lead League City’s five-hit offense.
League City returns to tournament action on Friday at 7 p.m. against defending ALWS champion Troy (Ala.) Post 70, while Cheyenne plays at 4 p.m. on Friday against Ellsworth (Maine) Post 207.
Cheyenne was making the first appearance by a team from Wyoming in the ALWS.
- Baseball