Ace Mwangi pumps life into Owls with sparking no-hitter
May 15—Nothing has come easily for the Timberlane baseball Owls this spring.
So, when Jaden Mwangi took the mound Friday afternoon, despite the fact that he was dealing, there was plenty of anxiety to go around — waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop, if you will.
The junior righty and his mates never gave in. Mwangi delivered a 94-pitch, nine-strikeout, three-walk no-hit shutout, helping the Owls double their season win total with a 5-0 win over Alvirne.
"It's the first one (no-hitter) for me in all the years I've played baseball," said Mwangi, who finished well under the mandated 120-pitch limit.
"Through the whole game, I kind of did my own thing. It got to about the fifth, and I realized I had a chance at it. I was sitting with the trainer before we went out for the seventh, and he just said, 'let's make this the last inning.'
"Sure, I was stressing, but I kept myself together and did what I had to do."
What Mwangi had to do just wasn't that simple.
He blew the first two hitters away, and had thought he locked the no-no down in style by striking out the third.
But the ball sneaked away from the catcher, and the hitter was safe at first.
That kind of madness can really mess with a guy. Not Mwangi. He buckled down and got a lazy fly ball to end it and commence with the celebrating.
"Everyone was so excited. I mean, you could see it, going out in the seventh, everyone was excited," said Mwangi. "That inning was painful, but I will take it."
There was really only one super-tense moment for Mwangi.
That came early, in the second inning.
"As a team, we haven't played the best defense. That was clearly by far the cleanest defense we've played all year, and I'm proud of the boys for that," said Mwangi.
"I hit a kid. But it didn't really throw me off. There really was no point in the game, where I thought the kids were going to get to me. For the most part, it went as well I as I could have expected. I was locating the fastball early in the count when I needed to, and my slider was there. I feel like my fastball dominated them most of the game."
When it didn't, the Owls had his back, especially Liam Kelley, who turned in a couple defensive gems at third base.
At 2-12, Timberlane can't really think about the playoffs.
"We'd have to win out and we've got a tough, tough stretch here," said the 5-foot-10, 165-pound pitcher. "I don't think the standings really show how far we've progressed as a team this year, though. We've definitely improved."
A first-team All-Division 2 defensive back in the fall and a hoop player in the winter, Mwangi has delivered a big campaign on the diamond this spring, a place where he calls his No. 1 sport.
"He's been a real bright spot this year. He does everything we could ask," said coach Alex Horgan. "He's the kind of kid you're looking for, great attitude, three sport athlete, leader. and he's put together a solid spring."
Mwangi went from the team's starting center-fielder to taking a regular turn in the rotation and also starting at short, third and in center this year.
On the mound, Mwangi is 1-3 with 48 strikeouts, allowing three earned runs (2.07 ERA) and 17 hits in 27 innings of work. Opposing batters are hitting .160 against him.
This summer, he will return to his New Hampshire Prospects AAU team as well with the hopes of conjuring up some interest from the college ranks.
"College baseball is the goal," he said. "After that, we'll see how far I can take it."
