WESSINGTON SPRINGS -- Mitch McLagan had a week on the baseball diamond he won't soon forget.
McLagan recorded an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead the Wessington Springs Owls amateur baseball team to a 7-6 win over Pierre last Tuesday and decided to top that on Sunday as he pitched a no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Plankinton in Wessington Springs.
"There were a couple pitches I was overthrowing and trying to do too much," McLagan said. "I wasn't real nervous until there were two outs (in the seventh)."
The game lasted just seven innings due to the mercy rule, although that's not what McLagan wanted to see happen.
"I wanted to go nine," he said. "I was watching the scoreboard hoping we weren't going to get the 10-run rule."
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In the game, five Plankinton batters reached base as McLagan allowed four walks and one batter reached on a strikeout that was unable to be controlled by the Owls catcher and the batter ended up at third after an error on the throw.
McLagan finished the game with six strikeouts.
The Owls offense put up six runs in the fifth inning to take the 10-run lead. Arin Boschee had three hits while Logan Kopfmann and Armando Rodriguez each had two hits including a double.
McLagan, a former pitcher at Mount Marty College, said he had thrown three one-hitters for his Legion team but Sunday's performance marked his first ever no-hitter.
"After the third inning I probably started thinking about it," he said.
McLagan relies heavily on his split-finger in most outings but said he only threw six or seven all game Sunday.
"I had a lot of success locating my fastball, which I haven't done in my previous outings," he said.
The win marked the second complete-game victory for McLagan in Pony Hills League action.
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McLagan said when he starts a game on the mound, he intends to finish there.
"I'm never going to ask to come out," he said. "I plan to go nine even if my body tells me no."
Wessington Springs improved to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the Pony Hills League and is back in action at 8 p.m. today against Alexandria in Wessington Springs.
