Titans' Zier Tosses No-Hitter at Thunder

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Illinois Wesleyan junior lefthander Erik Zier (Lockport HS) became the first Titan to pitch a no-hitter since 1982 when he stopped Wheaton, 8-0, on Saturday, March 30. For his effort he was named "Player of the Week" in the College Conferenbce of Illinois and Wisconsin.

The Titans staked Zier to a 4-0 first inning lead, which proved to be insurmountable. Zier baffled Wheaton with a nasty slider and finished with seven strikeouts, two walks and two hit batsmen. The Thunder only hit three balls out of the infield.

"I felt really good," said Zier, who recorded his first no-hitter at any level. "The curveball wasn't working, but the slider was working real well today, especially in the later innings when I started getting a little more tired. I was getting a little more break.

"I didn't think about the (no-hitter) until there were two strikes on the last batter and the whole team started clapping in the dugout," Zier told Doug Hamm of The Pantagraph. "Before that I knew what was going on, but I wasn't thinking about it."

IWU supported Zier with an 11-hit attack. Outfielder Mike Mazzone (Carol Stream, Glenbard North HS) led the way with three hits and an RBI. Second baseman Ryan Gilfillan (Peoria, Notre Dame HS), third baseman Mick Curran (Orland Park, Sandburg HS) and designated hitter Kent Devine (Oak Forest HS) had two hits each.

The last Titan no-hitter was tossed by Mike Mulberry in a 1-0 decision over North Central on May 1, 1982. In that game Mulberry struck out four and walked three.