Jesuit Invitational Tournament
Game 1: Blue Jays 8 Mandeville Skippers 0

Sophomore Davis Martin pitched a no-hitter in frigid weather as the Jays shut out Mandeville, 8-0, in Thursday’s opening game of the Jesuit Invitational Tournament at John Ryan Stadium.

Sophomore southpaw Davis Martin shrugged off frigid. biting winds and threw a complete no-hitter in the opening game against Mandeville in Jesuit’s own Invitational Tournament Thursday afternoon at John Ryan Stadium.

Alex Galy makes a leaping throw to first base and gets the out.

Martin’s teammates brought hot bats to the plate and peppered the Skippers with 12 hits, scoring 4 runs in the opening inning and 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With winds howling out of the north at 35 m.p.h., brave fans huddled together under blankets and sipped hot chocolate. An intrepid group of baseball dads occupied their usual top row spot in the bleacher section where it felt like gale force Arctic winds were blowing.

Coach Joey Latino attributes the Jays’ 6-1 start to the amount of work the players put in at practice and the amount of attention they pay to the drills everyday.

“When you pay attention to the drill work and all of the process part of it, you’re gonna get the good results,” said Coach Latino. “Davis did exactly what we wanted him to do. I told him to stay away from walks, just pound the strike zone, and our defense really played excellent baseball tonight.”

Martin’s no-hitter is the first one this season completed solo. The Jays had a combined no-hitter in their opener against Grace King and senior Jack Burk threw six innings of no-hit ball against West Ouachita in the WGNO Classic.  

But Coach Latino puts these achievements in perspective.

“Those things are great for the kids, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not where we put the focus,” he said. “The focus is on execution, sticking to the game plan, throwing strikes, and keeping our team in it.”

Jesuit plays Byrd High from Shreveport Friday at the Ryan. First pitch is scheduled at 7 p.m., following a 4 p.m. game between St. Thomas More and Assumption.

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Nola.com: Davis Martin hurls complete-game no-hitter as Jesuit stymies Mandeville in tournament opener