Bangor's Chase Horstman earned himself the honor of being named the 2023 Scenic Bluffs Player of the Year thanks to his dominance last spring. If the Cardinals' season opener against the Luther Knights was any indication, it could be more of the same from Horstman during his senior campaign.
Horstman helped Bangor (1-0) kick the 2024 season off on a winning note by throwing a no-hitter in the team's 3-0 victory over the Knights (0-1) in non-conference action on Friday, April 5 in Onalaska.
Horstman not only came flying out of the gates this spring with a no-hitter — he very nearly made it a perfect game.
Not a single Luther batter reached base until there was one out in the bottom of the seventh, when Horstman issued his first walk of the evening. After striking out the next batter, Horstman issued another walk to bring the potential game-tying run to the plate. However, the Bangor ace secured the win, the shutout and the no-hitter by punching out the final batter in three pitches.
In total, Horstman struck out 10 and allowed just the two walks in an otherwise spotless seven innings of superb work.
It wasn't a picture perfect start to the season at the plate for the Cardinals, but they were more than good enough with how dialed in Horstman was on the bump.
Bangor junior shortstop Bryce Peterson got his team a runner in scoring position almost immediately with a one-out double in the top of the first. Peterson advanced to third on a Horstman groundout and then scored on a wild pitch.
The Cardinals got a couple more runners on base thanks to singles by Peterson and junior third baseman Eli Tucker in the third and fourth innings, respectively, but both were thrown out trying to steal second. Bangor finally added a couple insurance runs with two outs in the top of the sixth thanks to senior center fielder Samuel Cropp swiping home and Tucker driving in Horstman with an RBI double.
At the plate for Bangor, Tucker went 2 for 2 with a double, a walk and an RBI, Peterson finished 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored and Horstman added a single and a run to go along with his electric performance on the mound.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will get conference play underway with their home opener, where they will welcome in the New Lisbon Rockets on Monday, April 8 at 5 p.m. in Bangor.
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