Marion, IL (June 15, 2021) – The Southern Illinois Miners beat the Lake Erie Crushers 2-0 in the second half of a doubleheader against the Lake Erie Crushers on Tuesday night at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, Ohio, with Michael Austin pitching the third no-hitter in franchise history in his debut with the team.
The right-hander needed just 87 pitches to complete the historic start, walking two and striking out five to throw the first individual no-hitter in the Frontier League since 2017, and the 30th overall in the history of the league. It was his first appearance in a Miners uniform after being traded from the Washington Wild Things last week.
Austin’s historic accomplishment came in a game that the Miners led throughout, as Anthony Brocato led off the nightcap of the doubleheader with a double in the first inning, and scored later in the frame on an RBI groundout by Ian Walters for a 1-0 lead. The Miners would chase Lake Erie starter and former Miner Robby Rowland (2-1) from the game in the fifth inning, when Luke Mangieri led off with a single, stole second base, and scored on Walters’ RBI single to account for the final 2-0 score.
In game one, the pitching was also dominant on both sides between Gunnar
Kines and Ryan Feierabend. Kines (0-1) struck out nine and went the distance for the Miners, allowing just one walk and two hits in the game, but took a hard-luck loss when the Miners’ defense committed two straight errors in the bottom of the sixth. A Trevor Achenbach RBI double then scored the only run of the game, as the Miners lost the 1-0 decision before Austin’s no-hitter in game two.
Austin joins Rick Teasley (2014) and Matt Bywater (2015) as the only Southern Illinois pitchers to toss a no-hitter in their history.
The Miners will go for back-to-back wins over the Crushers in the third game of the four-game set on Wednesday, June 16, at 6:05 p.m., with reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Week Kaleb Schmidt starting against Lake Erie’s Sean Johnson in Avon.
