Emerald Challengers pitcher Collin Hernandez was like a great musician Friday night as the left-hander found his rhythm and tuned up the Eagle River Wolves at Mulcahy Stadium.

The southpaw rocked his fastball and rolled with 12 strikeouts as he threw the third no-hitter in the 27-year history of the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic to highlight the Eugene (OR) team’s 1-0 win over the two-time defending Alaska state champions.

Hernandez, a rising junior, threw 91 pitches and faced only 22 batters, one above the minimum. He struck out 10 of the first 13 and twice snuffed out Eagle River rallies after the Wolves had put a runner in scoring position.

In the second inning, Gunner Mountcastle reached on a two-out error and stole second base but was stranded while in the sixth Gage Rose walked, stole second and moved to third on a sac bunt but was erased after a failed squeeze play. Eagle River had to try something because Hernandez was shoving.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pounder struck out seven straight batters at one stretch. He fanned two batters in each of the first two innings before striking out the side in the third and fourth innings. He ended six of seven innings with a K.

Working fast and throwing hard, Hernandez was in total command. Among his 12 strikeouts, half were looking, including the final out of the game.

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
@ Mulcahy Stadium
FRIDAY
Eugene (OR) 1, Eagle River 0
Lower Columbia (WA) 12, South 4
West 13, Dimond 2
Chugiak 12, Service 2
SATURDAY
9:15am Chugiak vs Lower Columbia (WA)
11:45am Service vs Lower Columbia (WA)
2:15pm Dimond vs Eugene (OR)
5:00pm West vs Eugene (OR)
7:30pm Eagle River vs West
SUNDAY
11:45am Fifth Place
2:15pm Semifinals
5:00pm Semifinals
7:30pm Title Game

The win was the 19th in a row for the Challengers, who moved to 148-33 since 2020 thanks to three consecutive 40-win seasons. They are already halfway there this year after improving to 20-1 overall.

Hernandez had to outduel Eagle River southpaw Jack Molloy as the game was scoreless through five innings.

In the top of the sixth, Eugene’s Brock Johnson reached on a throwing error and went to second on Peyton Tyner’s drag bunt single. With one out, Eli Crist hit a chopper back to Molloy, who spun to second to attempt an inning-ending double play. The twin killing didn’t happen and Johnson never broke stride to score from second, just beating the relay home.

Molloy then loaded the bases and was pulled in favor of reliever Charlie Wallace, who got out of the jam thanks to a pick from first baseman Alex Mullen on a low throw from short.

In the bottom of the sixth, Gage Rose walked, stolen second and moved to third on Kamden Kurtz’s sac bunt to give the Wolves (10-3) just their second runner in scoring position of the night. The Challengers cut down the runner on a failed bunt squeeze play and then center fielder Dillon Butler made a sliding catch to end the inning.

Molloy pitched beautifully, mixing speeds and carrying a shutout into the sixth inning against an elite club hitting .360 as a team. He worked around runners in scoring position in each of the second, third and fourth innings, getting one double play behind him thanks to shortstop Landon Hudson.

Wallace worked the final 1.1 innings, striking out Tyner looking to end the seventh.

For Eagle River, the 2023 season has been especially cruel. The Wolves have now lost 1-0 on a no-hitter and lost 1-0 after throwing a no-hitter.

It’s been the same tune in the rivalry against the Challengers, who have now beaten Eagle River by one run in each of the last two meetings. Last year at a tournament in Eugene, the Challengers won 8-7 after scoring twice in the sixth as the game ended due to the time limit.

Hernandez closed out his no-hitter with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. This was the first no-hitter at the Midseason Classic since 2015, when Chugiak’s Jared McPhearson, Brady Lindberg and Jimmy Lanier combined for a no-no in a 7-1 win over Eagle River. In 2014, Chris Crosby of Team Avenue (CA) threw one against South in a 4-0 win.

Hernandez’s 12Ks were tied for the third most in tournament history.

MOST STRIKEOUTS IN TOURNAMENT GAME
14 – Zach Ferntheil, Service (AK) 2011
14 – Corley Huffstickler, Texarkana (TX) 2013
13 – Jackson Bergman, Napoleon (OH) 2022
12 – Steven Shepard, Keene (NH) 2005
12 – Trevor Blaylock, Napoleon (OH) 2011
12 – Joey Becher, Kenai (AK) 2016
12 – Carlton Easterwood, Columbia (TN) 2016
12 – Luke Krouse, Napoleon (OH) 2022
12 – Collin Hernandez Eugene (OR) 2023

Lower Columbia (WA) 12, South 4

Lower Columbia banged out 10 hits and scored in five of seven innings to triple up the Wolverines in its Alaska debut. The win was the 10th in a row for the team out of Southwest Washington. Logan Dorland, Talon McGroty and Logan Barker each drove in two RBIs and Logan Bodily scored three runs. It was a good night to be named Logan. Even South’s Logan Geuss got in on the act, going 2-for-4 and making five assists in the field. Barker’s two-out, two-run single gave Lower Columbia a 5-1 edge, but the Wolverines clawed back behind five singles and RBIs from Blake Peterson, Luke Tovsen and Grayson Stanek-Alward to get within 5-4. In a tournament defined by blowouts, it looked like this one would be close. Think again. Lower Columbia finished the game with seven unanswered runs, getting production up and down the lineup. No. 9 hitter Camden Wheatley was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Catcher Trenton Lamb drove in a run and threw out a baserunner. South’s Robert Hughes went 2-for-4 and had his streak of reaching base snapped at seven consecutive plate appearances. Right fielder Chase Dixon made a spectacular catch along the left-field line, robbing Lamb of extra bases in the third.

West 13, Dimond 2

The Eagles had 13 hits and the Lynx made six errors, adding up to a five-inning mercy rule victory. West banged out five base knocks and sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning, when the Eagles took a commanding 7-0 lead. Paul Dittrich’s RBI double got the party started, Jack Boots had an RBI single and Liam Gunn added a two-run single. They got back to work in the fourth with four more runs, keyed by RBIs by Makai Baylous, Dittrich and Braden Meissner. Sam Zieserl put the game out of reach in the fifth after he knocked in a run with an RBI single and then scored after back-to-back errors. Baylous was lights out in relief, pitching three hitless frames and picking off a runner in the third. His catcher Evan Fitzgerald helped him out with a nice catch on a pop up the elevator shaft directly behind home plate. Dimond’s Chase Mathews stayed hot with a two-run single in the third, making him 4-for-6 in the tournament. He also threw four innings of relief, striking out seven batters.

Chugiak 12, Service 2

Tyler Cage went 4-for-4 and flirted with history as the Mustangs bounced back in a big way, crushing the Cougars in five innings to win by mercy rule and create a three-way tie in Pool B at 1-1. Cage drove in six runs to miss matching the tournament record of seven RBIs, which has been accomplished by three players, most recently in 2016. One of them is Matt Geurts from 2007. Cage had a two-run single in the first inning, a RBI triple in the third, a RBI single in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth. He pitched yesterday and did not look good. He took out his frustration out on Service pitching, doing damage against three different hurlers. Landon Luebke went 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs and three runs. The Mustangs also got a big effort from Blake Yawitt, who had a sac bunt, RBI single, 9-pitch walk and was hit by a pitch. Lost in the offensive outburst was the pitching of Jayden Steckel, who went four innings without recording a strikeout. After falling behind five batters into the game, Steckel settled down to retire 10 of the final 12 batters he faced. Service got RBI base knocks from Owen Hickman and Rilen Niclai in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead before the wheels fell off.