April 3, 2008 – RIVERSIDE
Covington junior Darrell Thobe put together one of the most dominant pitching performance in recent memory in recording a no-hitter in a 11-0 Buccaneer victory over Riverside, Thursday.

"Darrell threw really well," Covington coach Mitch Hirsch said of his pitcher. "He located the ball well and his curve ball was on tonight."

The most impressive aspect of Thobe's twelve-strike-out performance was it came in miserable weather conditions.

"It wasn't ideal conditions for a pitcher, that's for sure," Hirsch described. "It started raining in the second inning and didn't stop. It was cold and wet out there tonight and for Darrell to pitch that well in those conditions is something special."

Thobe had a little help in the field as the Buccaneer defense committed just one fielding error - it's first in two games.

"We're playing very well defensively," said Hirsch. "We've had just one error in twelve innings, so we're helping out our pitchers in the field."

After a scoreless first inning, it was the Riverside defense that helped Covington put runs on the board.

Adam Craft led off the inning with a single and Andy Sparks walked to put runners at first and second. Two straight fielding errors by Riverside on hits by Logan Woloch and Thobe scored three Covington runs.

The Buccs added another run in the fourth and then blew the game open in the sixth with four more runs.

Sparks started off the sixth with a lead-off single and Woloch was hit by a pitch to get Covington rolling.

A Thobe bunt loaded the bases and Kyle Kanet followed with a single to make the score 5-0.

David Moss doubled to drive in two more runs and Nate Lavey followed with an RBI single to put Covington up 8-0. Moss went 3-for-3 with 4 RBI.

Covington then added three more runs in the seventh for the 11-0 victory on a nine-hit night.

"Our hitting was pretty good, but it's still not where we want it to be," Hirsch said. "We just need to get more games in and our hitting will come around."

Getting games in may be a problem as heavy rains are expected overnight and Covington is scheduled to host Versailles tomorrow. With the field already saturated, Hirsch and the Buccs may have to wait until Saturday where they are scheduled to host Lehman in a double-header.

"It's frustrating (the weather)," Hirsch continued. "We have some momentum right now and we'd like to keep it going. Everybody is in the same situation (with the weather) so we'll just have to stay focused and be ready to play when we can."

For Hirsch and the Buccs, hopefully Mother Nature eases up a little.

Scoring by Innings:
Covington ........0...3...1...0...0...4...3 - 11...9...1
Riverside .........0...0...0...0...0...0...0 - 0.....0...4