VARGO BLANKS THE LIONS WITH A NO HITTER

EAST PALESTINE OH-  Leland Vargo was untouchable Thursday night, throwing a no-hitter and striking out 10 as Newton Falls cruised past Heartland Christian 11-0 in five innings.

Vargo faced just one over the minimum, walking one but slamming the door on any hopes of a hit. Straight filth on the mound from start to finish.

The Tigers didn’t waste any time backing him up either. They got rolling in the first with a groundout RBI and a knock up the middle to take an early 2-0 lead.

Then the floodgates opened in the second—five runs on four hits, plus a couple of errors from Heartland that didn’t help their cause. Ethan Powell and Trevor Ruscoe stayed hot at the plate, each driving in runs, and Michael Bennett chipped in with an RBI knock to help blow the game wide open.

By the third, Newton Falls was in full control. Another miscue by Heartland and a bases-loaded walk made it 9-0. Two more in the fifth sealed it.

The Tigers racked up 10 hits. Powell and Ruscoe each had a pair of hits and drove in two, while Wyatt Wheeler added two hits of his own. Powell also swiped two bags as the Tigers ran free, finishing with four steals on the day.

Heartland turned a nice double play late, but it was too little, too late against a team firing on all cylinders. Next up for Newton Falls is a home showdown with Champion on Monday.