By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

YORK, S.C. – He was unhittable.

LaGrange College’s Zach English, who is spending his summer playing for the Piedmont Pride, threw a seven-inning no-hitter as his team beat the Carolina Vipers 9-0 on Saturday night in South Carolina.

English was threatening to throw a perfect game for much of the game as he retired the first 13 batters he faced, and he ended up giving up no hits while walking two with six strikeouts.

“Zach English threw a great ballgame. He had good command of all of his pitches, and we are very happy for him,” Piedmont head coach Joe Hudak said in a story posted on the team’s website. “Everybody was nervous and not saying anything about the no hitter. I knew about it in the third inning. And I was the one calling the pitches, so I felt like I couldn’t make a mistake. But he executed all of his pitches, and I’m very happy for him.”

Hudak called the pitches, and English said whatever he “was telling Kit (Capell) to call tonight was working. I don’t know why but they Lord allowed to have this tonight. It was a great feeling. I was a little mad about the two walks, but it’s all right.”

The two walks came in the fifth inning to back-to-back batters, and English set down the final eight batters he faced.

There is a 100-pitch limit in the league, and English was closing in on that after throwing 90 pitches through six innings.

English only needed eight pitches to finish off the Vipers in the seventh inning, though, and he completed the no-hitter with a strikeout, and his teammates mobbed him after the last pitch.

Former Carrollton Trojan Roury Glanton hit a two-run home run to lead the offensive effort.

The Pride are a part of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, and this is their third year of existence.

English played for the Pride last season, and he led the team with 20 appearances while throwing 35 innings, and he had a 4-2 record with two saves.

English has made two appearances for the Pride this summer, both in a starting role, and he has been brilliant.

English (2-0) hasn’t allowed a run in 12 innings, and he has 13 strikeouts with three walks while allowing five hits.

English, who played his prep baseball at West Hall, was a junior pitcher for a LaGrange College team that enjoyed tremendous success last season.

English appeared in seven games with five starts, and he was 3-0.

In 2016, English pitched in five games, and he started 10 games as a freshman in 2015 and had a 4-3 record.

Two of LaGrange College’s top starting pitchers were seniors this season, so English will likely be a key member of the rotation next spring.