On April 10, junior Aidan Henning, a Yorktown pitcher, threw a no-hitter against Herndon. A no-hitter is when a pitcher does not allow any hits against the opposing team but allows some players to get on base by walking them. However, it is not a perfect game, where no players can be walked. Nonetheless, getting a no-hitter is one of the most difficult feats in baseball.
For Henning, throwing a no-hitter is not a new experience; although that was his first at Yorktown, he has thrown several others when he was younger. Pitching a no-hitter for Yorktown was still a special moment for Henning in his baseball career.
“In high school, this is my first [no hitter], but I have thrown two others for travel teams,” Henning said.
Henning stroke out nine of 22 batters during his no-hitter. Henning pitched the whole game, seven innings total.
“I got nine strikeouts and two drop third strikes, which is basically a strikeout,” Henning said.
Henning’s no-hitter was almost ruined a couple times by line drives down the middle. Luckily, junior Jonah Margosis, the shortstop, stepped up and got the hitter out at first.
“It was probably a play toward Jonah at shortstop, there were a couple of hard grounders that were up the middle that he made good plays on,” Henning said.
The team celebrated the no-hitter by mobbing Henning on the field after the game ended.
“We kind of just jumped around on the field after the game, but other than that there was no real celebration,” said Henning.
Behind his incredible pitching, Henning and Yorktown won the game 3-0.
“I believe we scored all of our runs in the third or fourth innings, we strung together a series of hits,” Henning said.
Because of Henning’s impressive outing, he was highlighted by multiple news outlets in the area.
“The Sun Gazette and NOVA Baseball Mag are two of the bigger ones around our area that recognized. That was the first time I got publicized in a magazine,” Henning said.
Henning was two walks away from a perfect game, one of the hardest accomplishments to achieve in all sports.
“I walked two people, the first guy I picked off, the second guy Jonah made a double play,” Henning said.
Henning may have thrown really well, but he did not hit during the game.
“I did not hit, my designated hitter was Alec Ellison, so I could focus on pitching,” Henning said.
“For that game I was working my fastballs inside and outside, so that got them away from the plate. My curveball was by strikeout pitch, that really got them off balance and kept them guessing,” Henning said.
A no-hitter is no easy task. Henning’s performance is one of the best Yorktown pitching games in recent history. He has definitely earned the praise and attention that he deserves. Hopefully, Henning stays hot and leads Yorktown to a successful season.
