Cyclones smash Titans behind Sears’ no-hitter

 HARLAN -- The player affectionately known as “Rook” by his coaches and teammates is starting to pitch like a seasoned veteran for the Harlan Community baseball team.
 Improving to 3-0 on the mound, sophomore Brett Sears fired a six-inning no-hitter against the sixth-ranked team in Class 4-A Monday night as the top-ranked (3-A) Cyclones stayed unbeaten with an impressive 11-1 home win over Lewis Central.
 Sears struck out eight in his second career no-hitter and was perfect aside from a spat of wildness in the fourth inning, when he walked four Titan batters to force in their only run.
 Sears, who previously no-hit Carroll in a rain-shortened five-inning game while making his varsity debut as an eighth-grader, said that Monday’s feat against a team like LC meant a lot more.
 “This is the first true [no-hitter],” he said. “(LC) is a good team, so to come out here and do that was special.
 “Fourth inning I kind of got out of control but I just needed to trust my defense. I know they’re one of the best defenses out there so I just trust them and it makes it easy on me.”