Monson, Moser combine on Cyclone no-hitter

 HARLAN (June 22) -- Sophomore pitchers Alex Monson and Joey Moser combined on a no-hitter Monday night as the Harlan Community baseball team outlasted Denison-Schleswig 2-0 at Jim Goeser Field.
 The 10th-ranked (Class 3A) Cyclones scored the game’s only two runs in the third inning and managed just five hits off Monarch pitcher Evan Turin, who walked two and struck out nine in six innings.
 Monson (1-0), making his second start of the season, threw just 71 pitches in six hitless innings, walked two and struck out three. Moser retired the side in order with one strikeout in the seventh to notch the save.
 HCHS head coach Steve Daeges called it “one of the better-pitched games we’ve had here at J.J. (Jensen Park)” and was particularly impressed with Monson’s poise and efficiency on the mound.
 “Alex Monson was pounding the zone tonight,” said Daeges. “He threw strike after strike, and going into the fifth inning, I believe, was at 39 pitches. We played excellent defense behind him and he was able to throw his curveball some for a strike, so that helps."
 After walking Denison’s leadoff batter in the first, Monson retired the next 16 Monarchs prior to Logan Dahm reaching base on a swinging bunt in the sixth inning.
 Moser, playing third base at the time, quickly charged in and fielded the ball cleanly on the run, firing a throw that just narrowly pulled first baseman Teagon Kasperbauer’s foot off the bag. Dahm was initially called out, then safe on an appeal to the home plate umpire. The HCHS dugout ruled the play an error, keeping the no-hitter intact.
 Offensively, the Cyclones were able to scratch across two soft runs in the third off Turin, who retired the first seven batters of the game before a one-out error and a walk to Monson set the table for Harlan’s two-run inning. After Connor Bruck’s single loaded the bases, eighth-grader Cade Sears singled home a run and Moser’s RBI ground out made it 2-0.