Pitchers ahead of batters again in the Pacific

Kinnick left-hander Kaiden Conley threw one of two no-hitters by Red Devils pitchers this weekend, along with fellow lefty Dale McNamara, against E.J. King. (E.J. King baseball)

Traffic is starting to build again on No-Hit Highway on Pacific high school diamonds – already a quarter of the way to matching last regular-season’s total of 16.

Left-handers Kaiden Conley, a freshman, and senior Dale McNamara tossed no-nos for Nile C. Kinnick within an 18-hour span of each other, leading the Red Devils to a 10-0 victory Saturday and a 6-1 win Friday at E.J. King.

Coupled with a 4-0 shutout of the Cobras later Saturday afternoon, the Red Devils completed the weekend series by outscoring King 20-1 and allowing only three hits.

“He was just locked in tonight,” Kinnick coach Chad Stark said of McNamara. “He can be difficult to face for some kids.”

Of McNamara’s submarining pitching style, “he changed from going complete sidearm to more of a three-quarter,” Stark said. “His delivery is definitely different. I have never seen a lefty pitch like him as long as I’ve been at Kinnick. And I’ve definitely seen it all.”

As for Conley, Stark said he’s remindful of a right-hander named Daniel Ross, who pitched for Kinnick in the early 2010s. Like Ross, who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization just before the coronavirus pandemic, Conley has grown up and lived his whole life in Japan.

“He may be better at the same age,” Stark said of Conley. “He’s the best pitching prospect we have ever had. Just a great player, and ironically, our youngest. We’ll probably only have him for two years.”

No-hitters were not just the province of Japan this weekend.

Over in South Korea, Jaden Supnet pitched three innings of no-hit ball and struck out nine as Humphreys routed Osan 37-0 in a Saturday game in which the Cougars – who don’t have a field of their own – were the home team at Humphreys’ Blackhawks Field.

Supnet threw 36 pitches, 27 for strikes, and helped himself at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a double and six RBIs.

At Daegu’s Victory Field, in a game that lasted just two innings, Madison Marasco and Melina Schablik combined to allow Daegu no hits as Humphreys routed the Warriors 20-0 on Saturday. Marasco also got the win as the Blackhawks downed Osan 25-7 earlier Saturday.

King junior Aniah Little leads the Pacific with 27 goals and was named MVP of the girls WJAA tournament, which the Cobras won. (Taisei Shimakura/Special to Stripes)

Ren Spinosi, Noah Charles and Matthew C. Perry’s boys soccer team continue to break years-long title droughts.

The latest came Saturday, when the Samurai downed Kyoto International University Academy 3-1 in the finals of the Western Japan Athletic Association tournament at Fukuoka. It was Perry’s first championship in that tournament since 2016.

“I like how the team is progressing and we’re all having fun,” longtime Samurai coach Mark Lange said. Perry won the title in its Perry Cup tournament last weekend, for the fifth time, but the first since 2015.

Spinosi, Jalen Cooley and Landon DeMarsico-Birkland scored for the Samurai in the WJAA final. Perry improved to 11-0 on the season.

In the girls WJAA tournament hosted by E.J. King at Sasebo’s Nimitz Park, Aniah Little scored twice, bringing her Pacific-leading total to 27, as the Cobras shut out Nagoya International 2-0 in the final. King won the title for the third time in four years.

King improved to 9-3 on the season – a marked change for a team that won the Far East D-II title three years ago and finished in the top four the next season, but went 5-20-2 last year.

“I think it’s definitely the teamwork and communication,” said Cobras junior defender Ai Kina, who made the All-Tournament team along with Little, Kirrah Watson, Eileen McKown and Gigi Garcia.