No-No Nardo pitches gem against CR

Cape senior Diaz Nardo may not have felt up to par entering the April 25 game against conference rival Caesar Rodney, but it didn't take long for the big right-hander to get in the zone.

Nardo threw a complete game no-hitter in the 9-0 win over the Riders (7-5), striking out 10 batters, walking two and hitting one other. Nardo, a University of Delaware commit, improved his record to 2-2 this season. The no-hitter was the second of Nardo's high school career. He previously held Woodbridge hitless in the 2011 season opener.

“I was a little hurt coming in, but I felt good in the beginning of the first inning, so I just kept on going,” he said. “I just felt like I had everything today. I was throwing strikes, mainly I was hitting the strike zone with fastballs and curveballs.”

Coach Ben Evick said, “We talked before the game and just told him to pound the zone. You don't have to overpower people; you don't try to throw it by everyone. Just make plays and pound the strike zone, and that's exactly what he did.”

Nardo cruised through a perfect first three innings before he ran into trouble. After striking out the first batter in the top of the fourth inning, Nardo walked, hit a batter and walked another in consecutive at bats. Fortunately, a pick-off of a runner on second base and a routine pop-up to third ended the inning shortly thereafter.

Two CR batters reached base in the seventh inning on unquestionable errors, but again the Vikings' fielders preserved the shutout and no-hit bid with solid defense when it was needed.

Offensively, senior Cody Dmiterchik went 1-for-3 at the plate and scored three runs. Junior Griffin Kammerer was 1-for-2 with an RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Senior Adam Marcinizyn was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The victory was a good bounce-back win from Cape's tough 3-2 extra-inning loss in Lake Forest earlier in the week. However, the Vikings took the ferry across the Delaware Bay for a game against Lower Cape May Regional and suffered a 4-0 loss. The Vikings' record is now 6-5 with seven games remaining.

Cape will be back home Tuesday, April 30, when the Vikings will host Seaford at 4:15 p.m.