The only air stirred by the Cyclones last Monday came from their bats whiffing at the offerings of Greenwood starting pitcher Connor Noland, who tossed a seven-inning, complete game, no-hit, shutout against conference foe Russellville. Oh yes, he also fanned 14 enemy hitters in the 5-0 win.
It was the best performance of the season for the GHS senior who is headed for the University of Arkansas as a two-sport athlete in football and baseball. Sporting a 90-plus miles-per-hour fastball, Noland has already informed Major League Baseball that he is fully committed to college and is not a candidate for the MLB draft in June.
He plans to move to Fayetteville in late May, hoping to win the starting quarterback job for the Razorbacks and new Head Coach Chad Morris. Noland played in three consecutive state championship games for Greenwood and led the football Bulldogs to the 6A state title last December.
Issuing no walks in the contest, the one blemish on the scorebook was a second inning infield throwing error that allowed Russellville’s only runner to reach first base. Noland and his defense were perfect otherwise.
The victory clinched the conference title for the Bulldogs (25-3, 10-1), their 26th in school history. It was also Greenwood’s 17th consecutive win since their last loss on March 16th.
Offensively, Greenwood got all the runs it needed in the first inning, scoring twice on just one hit by Brandon Woolsey after a pair of walks, a fielder’s choice grounder, a stolen base, and a hit batsman. Woolsey’s hit drove home Jackson Webb and Peyton Holt.
The Bulldogs added two more insurance runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth. Woolsey added another hit and RBI later, giving him two hits and three runs driven in for the game. Freshman Landry Jurecka also added a hit and RBI in the 5-0 GHS win.
Noland required just 84 pitches in the game, which took only 85 minutes to complete. His regular season done, the future Razorback posted some gaudy stats, including a 7-0 record and one save in relief. He also fanned 87 hitters in only 48.2 innings, giving 12 walks and allowing just 17 total hits.
“I was feeling pretty good,” Noland said after completing the no-hit gem. “Just mixing my slider and curve ball was working well for me inside, outside of the fastball. That was catching them off-balance. I just kept them guessing and swinging the whole game.”
It was Noland’s first no-hitter as a Bulldog and his first since Little League.
“[This] one is special,” he said. “We’re getting close to the end of the season, it’s my senior [year] and to do it in front of our fans.”
GHS Head Coach Trey Holloway was likewise proud of Noland’s performance.
“He did a fantastic job,” said the coach. “As good as he’s been over the past four years, that’s his first no-hitter. He’s developing into a big-time pitcher. He keeps the ball down and keeps it out of the middle of the place, and he’s got a really good breaking ball.”