A little more than a week ago, North Carolina Tar Heels pitcher Aidan Haugh threw a 96-pitch no-hitter against Boston College, getting the final out in a very weird way. After a walk put the Eagles’ Jack Toomey on base, Nick Wang drilled a line drive into his teammate, automatically labeling the runner out.
Haugh’s teammates were ecstatic. After all, the Tar Heels’ baseball program hadn’t seen a no-hitter yet in the 21st century, making Haugh’s performance a piece of history. However, it wasn’t a no-hitter. See, despite Wang never reaching base, the rules indicated that the final out needed to be ruled a hit as the ball had gotten past the first baseman before hitting the runner.
The rule was so obscure that nobody in the stadium knew the no-hitter had been broken up. Haugh’s teammates stormed the field, mobbing their pitcher in excitement, but it wasn’t until after the game, when official scoring was released, that everyone realized what had happened.
Alas, history had not been made, but the team wouldn’t have to wait long for it again.
Just a week later, on April 1 in a game against Gardner-Webb, UNC’s Folger Boaz, Olin Johnson, and Camron Seagraves, combined for the team’s first legitimate no-hitter of the 21st century en route to an 11-1 win in seven innings.
As the kids say, ball don’t lie.
The only question left is ‘How in the world did Gardner-Webb score a run?’ It came in the second inning after Gardner-Webb’s Dale Francis Jr. led off the inning by reaching first base via an error. A wild pitch, ground ball, and second error later, Gardner-Webb was on the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead.
This isn’t something we’ve never seen before. As recently as 2011 in Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana tossed a one-run no-hitter against Cleveland. Similarly to UNC, the one run came after an error put the runner on base, he stole second, and finally scored on a wild pitch.
Regardless of that blemish though, UNC baseball is likely just happy to have that weight off their backs. They thought they’d made history only to have it pried away from them. Thankfully, they got another opportunity soon after and didn’t waste it.