Karnos no-hits Southern Idaho for 6 innings, settles for win
He wasn’t perfect, but Western Nevada College pitcher Max Karnos of Anchorage might as well have been for six innings against Southern Idaho.
The sophomore right-hander faced the minimum 18 batters as he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, a walk in the third inning erased by a double play.
Karnos lost the no-no but won his third decision, highlighting Western Nevada’s 12-0 win. The 6-foot-4 ace improved to 3-1 and lowered his ERA to 0.87 and extended his shutout streak to 15.1 innings.
“Honestly I wasn’t nervous because I just wanted our team to get the win. It would have just been a bonus for the no-hitter,” he told me.
“Throughout the whole game I gave a little peak up at the scoreboard to see how hard I was throwing, so yeah I was well aware I was throwing a no-hitter.”
The win snapped Western Nevada’s five-game losing streak, the team’s longest since 2007.
Karnos was determined to end the skid.
He retired the first six batters before walking the leadoff hitter in the third, but he was removed after the next guy grounded into a double play. Karnos maintained a clean sheet through six innings, throwing just 76 pitches.
He allowed back-to-back singles to open the seventh, breaking up his no-hitter.
No worries, though.
Karnos, of South High fame, struck out the next batter before getting the next guy to ground into a double play to preserve his clean sheet.
Karnos hasn’t given up a run since his first start Feb. 1.
“The seven shutout innings was a great consolation,” he said. “I was really happy that all my pitches were working well.”