Sunday, May 15, will go down as a day of “firsts” for 12-year-old Evan Larsen.
Larsen, you see, threw his first no-hitter in his young baseball career. In fact, it is also most likely the first complete-game no-hitter in Blue Wave history as well with an 8-0 shutout for Blue Wave 12U-Merrell over the Glendora Red Storm in the CCYB Spring 2011 playoffs.
“We’ve had a lot of great pitching performances over the years,” Blue Wave President Steve Kruse recalled. “However, we are fairly certain this is the first time a pitcher has gone the distance and thrown a complete game no-hitter in our seven-year history.”
Besides throwing a no-hitter, Evan struck out 16 batters to tie the record for “k’s” in a single Blue Wave game with Woodbridge HS grad Mitch Rossi. Rossi was 16 when he struck out 16 batters in seven innings and later attended Orange Coast College, where he pitched as well. Evan struck out the same number in 6 innings.
“He pitched great,” Coach Darric Merrell reported. “He was in complete command the entire game and simply overpowered most the hitters.”
Besides playing for Blue Wave, Evan is a member of the Costa Mesa Little League West Athletics, coached by his dad Eric. His favorite MLB team is the Angels and he enjoys practicing baseball and hanging out with his friends.