Suncoast pitcher’s no-hitter propels team to win

ROYAL PALMBEACH— Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, Suncoast’s Michael Via wasn’t sure what to expect from his softball team after its lengthy hiatus.

As it turned out, the Chargers coach had nothing to worry about.

Behind a no-hitter from senior right-hander Allison Tilton, the Chargers nipped Royal Palm Beach 2-1to pick up their 11th consecutive victory. Tilton went seven innings without allowing a run and gave up three walks. The Wildcats scored on a passed ball.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” said Tilton. “I work hard for it and to see results from my work is really nice. We were all just making plays and everything went well.”

Wednesday’s contest was a pitchers duel, as Royal Palm Beach (9-7) starter Jaime Tino allowed just two runs and striking out 10.

Following a scoreless first three innings, Suncoast (14-3) broke through in the top of the fourth. After Tilton reached base on an error to start the inning, sophomore rightfielder Remi Conley laced an RBI double down the left-field line to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.

Suncoast tacked on one more in the fifth, as Kendall Coyle manufactured a run of her own. After reaching base on a bunt single, the sophomore slugger stole second and later scored on a passed ball to give the Chargers a 2-0 advantage.

Royal Palm Beach cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the 5th inning, with freshman Nicole Hayslip also scoring on a passed ball. From there, Tilton closed the door on Royal Palm Beach, retiring the final five batters in order to secure the win.

The Chargers travel to Spanish River on Thursday, before closing out the regular season with two games nextweek.

“I feel really good with this team,” Via said. “Normally it takes about halfway through the season before the team gets together. This teamwas together from Day One. I think they believe in themselves and we want to go all theway to states and I believe we have the ability to do so.”