Sterling, Va. — On a windy and rainy night, Dominion High School junior Dylan Weber did nothing but throw heat. Weber struck out 13 en route to a no-hitter that propelled the Titans to their seventh win of the season and first in Dulles District play as they took down the Loudoun County Raiders, 2-0.
“It feels great [to get our first district win],” Dominion head coach Jeff Berg said. “When you get a pitching performance like we did today, it makes the job much easier.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]Weber was locked in throughout the game, with just three base runners reaching safely and none advancing past second base. Weber said that he “wanted to go after the batters” and make them prove their ability as hitters.
“Pitching late into games gives me a type of mojo, a drive to go longer,” Weber said.
He stressed the importance of his teammates, noting that he trusted his defense to make plays for him. Dominion sophomore center fielder Xavier Ruley did just that in the third inning. With a batter on second and both teams scoreless, Loudoun County had a chance to strike first with sophomore Mitch Gillin at the plate. Gillin lofted a high fly ball that looked like it might land for extra bases and break the tie, but Ruley made a spectacular catch on the run to save a run and the no-hitter.
It looked like Dominion would squander their ace’s accomplishments, as they were unable to score against Loudoun County junior Donovan Burke was able to shut the Titans out through the first four innings.
Dominion (1-0, 7-0) was finally able to breakthrough in the fifth inning. After a ground out, sophomore Matthew Turk singled to right and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then senior Ryan Bowman, walked. Turk then stole third base and advanced home on a wild pitch, ending Burke’s day. Another wild pitch scored Bowman, and those runs were all Dominion needed to take down the Raiders.
“A win is a win,” Berg said. “We’ll take this one and move on to the next game.”
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