kepdawg
04-08-2007, 12:23 AM
Memphis Express: Molloy throws five straight no-hitters
11:00 PM CDT on Saturday, April 7, 2007
In his first start for Memphis High this spring, Colt Molloy pitched a perfect game.
He'd been a left-handed pitcher most of his 17 years in the little West Texas town an hour and a half southeast of Amarillo, and in all that time he'd thrown only one other no-hitter.
But his senior season has been different. Maybe it was the mound he built in his backyard. Maybe it's the circle change, the same pitch used by one of his idols, Nolan Ryan. Maybe it's because his fastball now runs into the mid-80s, a lot to handle for Class A hitters, or because he finally became a pitcher and not just a thrower.
Whatever it was, maturity or karma or plain good luck, he followed up his perfect game with another no-hitter in his next start.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
Five no-hitters in a row. Broke the state record of four.
Tied for third, one back of the national record.
Not that anyone knew what to make of it all at first. The freshmen on the varsity violated superstition in the perfect game, against West Texas High, by talking about the no-hitter in the dugout.
"But somebody shut 'em up real quick," Colt said.
Pretty soon, everyone knew the protocol. Colt became a celebrity in the farming town of 2,450, where his father, Oren Don, runs a hunting lodge.
A handful of junior college coaches noticed. Coaches from Kansas State and Texas State, too.
Might be more interested if Colt were 6-1 instead of just 5-10.
"I've heard that a couple of times," he said.
Not that he'd be so bold as to object. He's just as deferential when it comes to all the attention he's attracted. In newspaper stories, Colt, as true to his manners as he is with his fastball, curve, slider and change, deflects the praise.
"Great kid," says his coach, Pat Yarbrough. "Always 'yes, sir ... no sir.'
"First thing he does is compliment his teammates."
His right fielder, Brett Clayton, made a diving catch to preserve one of the no-hitters. Colt couldn't really tell you which game, though. Could have been Wellington, maybe. Or Clarendon. Or Follet. Or Booker.
Did he say Booker?
You throw five no-hitters in a row, they all start to run together after awhile.
He doesn't keep up much with his stats, either. But he can tell you when it all ended.
Last Tuesday against Shamrock, fourth inning, no outs. First batter lines a clean single to left field.
Colt hadn't pitched in two weeks because of rainouts, and he figures he was a little rusty. Still, he won, 11-1. A good day's work for most pitchers unless you've raised the bar like he has.
And what happened when it was over? An estimated crowd of 150, lining the fences and filling the grandstand, the biggest turnout Colt had ever seen at a Memphis baseball game, gave him a standing ovation.
Not such a bad ending at that. Better than he expected, anyway.
"I knew it'd happen sooner or later," Colt said of the streak. "You can't no-hit people forever."
Only seemed like it.
11:00 PM CDT on Saturday, April 7, 2007
In his first start for Memphis High this spring, Colt Molloy pitched a perfect game.
He'd been a left-handed pitcher most of his 17 years in the little West Texas town an hour and a half southeast of Amarillo, and in all that time he'd thrown only one other no-hitter.
But his senior season has been different. Maybe it was the mound he built in his backyard. Maybe it's the circle change, the same pitch used by one of his idols, Nolan Ryan. Maybe it's because his fastball now runs into the mid-80s, a lot to handle for Class A hitters, or because he finally became a pitcher and not just a thrower.
Whatever it was, maturity or karma or plain good luck, he followed up his perfect game with another no-hitter in his next start.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
Five no-hitters in a row. Broke the state record of four.
Tied for third, one back of the national record.
Not that anyone knew what to make of it all at first. The freshmen on the varsity violated superstition in the perfect game, against West Texas High, by talking about the no-hitter in the dugout.
"But somebody shut 'em up real quick," Colt said.
Pretty soon, everyone knew the protocol. Colt became a celebrity in the farming town of 2,450, where his father, Oren Don, runs a hunting lodge.
A handful of junior college coaches noticed. Coaches from Kansas State and Texas State, too.
Might be more interested if Colt were 6-1 instead of just 5-10.
"I've heard that a couple of times," he said.
Not that he'd be so bold as to object. He's just as deferential when it comes to all the attention he's attracted. In newspaper stories, Colt, as true to his manners as he is with his fastball, curve, slider and change, deflects the praise.
"Great kid," says his coach, Pat Yarbrough. "Always 'yes, sir ... no sir.'
"First thing he does is compliment his teammates."
His right fielder, Brett Clayton, made a diving catch to preserve one of the no-hitters. Colt couldn't really tell you which game, though. Could have been Wellington, maybe. Or Clarendon. Or Follet. Or Booker.
Did he say Booker?
You throw five no-hitters in a row, they all start to run together after awhile.
He doesn't keep up much with his stats, either. But he can tell you when it all ended.
Last Tuesday against Shamrock, fourth inning, no outs. First batter lines a clean single to left field.
Colt hadn't pitched in two weeks because of rainouts, and he figures he was a little rusty. Still, he won, 11-1. A good day's work for most pitchers unless you've raised the bar like he has.
And what happened when it was over? An estimated crowd of 150, lining the fences and filling the grandstand, the biggest turnout Colt had ever seen at a Memphis baseball game, gave him a standing ovation.
Not such a bad ending at that. Better than he expected, anyway.
"I knew it'd happen sooner or later," Colt said of the streak. "You can't no-hit people forever."
Only seemed like it.