California State University Stanislaus athlete Andrew Graham earned a place in the university's record books on Saturday, when he became the first Warrior to ever throw a no-hitter.
Heading into the second game of a double-header against the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros at CSU Stanislaus, Warriors pitcher Graham was an unlikely candidate to claim the university's first no-hitter record.
“He came into this ballgame with a batting average against him over .400, and ends up throwing a no-hitter,” said KEFC FM sports commentator Eric Davis. “Only in this year’s Warriors can you expect to see something as wild as that.”
During the first game of the double-header on Saturday the Warriors beat the Toros 8-4. But it was that second game, when Graham blanked the Toros for a 3-0 win, that will go down in history.
Graham’s no-hitter was the first in the 48 year history of the CSU Stanislaus Warrior baseball program.
“I think we’re all a little bit stunned, but congratulations to Andrew Graham,” said KEFC FM sports commentator Bryan Nelson. “A complete game, no-hit shut out, and he leads the Warriors to a 3- nothing victory here in the second game of the double-header. That is the first no-hitter in the history of the Cal State Stanislaus athletic program, and that is hard to believe.”
Graham struck out four players and walked three during the 7-inning game. The two-game victory over the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros also ended a ten-game losing streak for the CSU Stanislaus Warriors.
“Coming here today I didn’t even know that I was going to start,” said Graham after the game. “I didn’t know what I was going to do, and really I don’t know what to say. In high school I was a little over the top, and then I had shoulder surgery and they told me that I probably shouldn’t pitch anymore, and I just wasn’t going to take that as an answer. I turned it upside down, and it worked out for me so I stuck to it.”
“I just never lost confidence in my pitches,” said Graham. “I just came into the game confident… I don’t think I’m ever going to forget this one.”
Graham was also named the Rawlings/California Collegiate Athletic Association Baseball Pitcher of the Week following the first-ever no-hitter in the Warrior’s baseball history.
To read more about Saturday’s game, visit http://www.warriorathletics.com/news/2013/3/16/BB_0316131151.aspx.
