Marsh throws no-hitter as Modesto’s Gregori High blanks Beyer 8-0

The only reason the Gregori softball team doesn’t own sole possession of first place in the Modesto Metro Conference right now is Beyer High School.

The Patriots handed the Jags their lone league loss March 19, and that fact was not lost on pitcher Maddi Marsh, who fired a no-hitter in an 8-0 victory over visiting Beyer on Tuesday.

“We really wanted to beat them after what happened before,” said Marsh, a junior right-hander who struck out seven and walked three. “It kind of helped me push through today.”

Technically, the Jags (6-1) are in second place in the MMC, a half-game behind league leader Enochs (7-1), which beat Johansen 10-1 on Tuesday. However, the teams are tied in the loss column and, at this point, Gregori owns the tiebreaker based on its 4-3 win over the Eagles on April 2.

“I think we’ve finally kind of hit our stride,” said Gregori coach Alannah Johns, whose team has won five in a row and nine of its last 10 and is 13-5 overall. “Our offense put the ball in play a lot and made their defense work a bit. And our pitcher threw well today.”

Forgive Johns if her “threw well today” comment seemed to understate the case. That’s because neither Johns nor Marsh realized she’d thrown a no-hitter at the game’s conclusion.

The coach didn’t realize it until she scanned the scorebook in the dugout long after her team left the field. Marsh didn’t realize until she was in the car, headed home.

“My parents told me because they keep track of all my pitch counts,” Marsh said. “I was really happy when I figured it out.”

Marsh, who throws an array of pitches, got better as the game progressed.

“As we scored a few runs, that pushed me to really finish the game strong,” Marsh said. “My curveball and dropball were working well today, as well as my screwball. I started off almost every lefty with a screwball.”

The Jaguars scored the only run they would need in the fourth inning, when Mehana Johns led off with a double and then scored on a one-out single by Santa Clara-bound senior Morgan Modesto.

Gregori blew open the game with five runs in the fifth – scoring one run on a fielder’s choice, two on errors and getting an RBI single from Jasmine Temple and an RBI double from Modesto.

The Jaguars host Davis on Thursday and visit Modesto and Johansen next week. Enochs visits Beyer on Thursday and then is at Downey and Modesto next week.

Gregori and Enochs will meet again May 4 in a game that should decide the MMC crown for the second year in a row.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Marsh throws no-hitter as Modesto’s Gregori High blanks Beyer 8-0."