Hickory's Englert, McDowell combine on no-no
High-A Hickory made history almost exactly a month to the day from when it completed the franchise's first no-hitter in nearly a decade. The club didn't wait nearly as long to throw one again. Mason Englert and Theo McDowell combined to toss the second no-hitter of the season as Hickory
High-A Hickory made history almost exactly a month to the day from when it completed the franchise's first no-hitter in nearly a decade. The club didn't wait nearly as long to throw one again.
Mason Englert and Theo McDowell combined to toss the second no-hitter of the season as Hickory blanked Greenville, 4-0, at Fluor Field at the West End on Thursday. The duo worked around three walks to accomplish the feat.
"We were on a four-game skid here, so we just wanted the win any way we could get it. But to be able to close out another no-hitter, I think that was really special for the guys and the organization," Crawdads pitching coach Jon Goebel said. "I think when a no-hitter like that happens, it's really a team effort. We have a mantra here of '30 vs. 9' [our entire roster vs. their starting lineup] and I think that really came through tonight."
McDowell appeared in both milestones for Hickory. The right-hander pitched the final two frames of each game and posted an identical line, striking out two while yielding a walk.
"I joked with Theo after the game and said to him, 'I guess you're our close out the no-hitter specialist now,'" Goebel said.
They did it again! The 'Dads threw their second no-no of the season! pic.twitter.com/DTRxHZVc2B
— Hickory Crawdads (@HickoryCrawdads) August 12, 2022
Englert entered the night enjoying the best stretch of his career. The right-hander had allowed one run or fewer in each of his previous four starts, and he proved early on that it was no fluke -- he retired the side in order on five pitches in the opening frame. He needed just 10 pitches to navigate through the second, and the 22-year-old was perfect through four -- whiffing a pair.
After an eight-pitch at-bat by Niko Kavadas resulted in a leadoff walk in the fifth, Englert recorded two outs on nine pitches before yielding his only other blemish on the night -- a walk to Tyler McDonough. But the 2018 fourth-round Draft selection locked back in to set down the final seven batters he faced. He exited after throwing 61 of his 93 pitches for strikes and completed the night with six punchouts.
"Mason had really good execution of all of his pitches tonight. When he's on, he's got four pitches that are above average and he's been clicking pretty good over the past month or so," Goebel said. "He's a guy that's extremely focused mentally. He does a lot of meditation between innings to visualize how he's going to attack the following inning. And I think he believes in his execution so much that he's not the type of guy that's going to give in to a hitter. He'll never just try to put one over the plate. He doesn't fear the occasional free pass because he knows he can make that pitch if he needs to. So whenever he walks someone, there's never any red flags there because he's shown the ability to not let that affect him."
McDowell took the ball and quickly retired the first five Drive batters he faced, fanning two. After top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer kept the game going with a five-pitch walk, McDowell closed the door by coaxing Blaze Jordan into a flyout to shallow center.
"Theo was scheduled to throw in relief tonight regardless of the situation, but once we got into this, he is a guy that you feel comfortable bringing into this type of moment," Goebel said. "He's a pretty cool dude -- very chill demeanor, he's a smooth operator in that regard. He's shown a really good breaking ball since he joined us; it's always been his equalizer and it was what he leaned on to navigate through those last two innings."
Englert's recent surge has helped the 6-foot-4, 206-pounder to lower his ERA to 3.59 with a 0.98 WHIP and a .199 opponents' average against over 19 starts. He has amassed 108 strikeouts and 23 walks over 92 2/3 innings with the Crawdads this season.
McDowell was promoted to Hickory from Single-A Down East on June 30 and he has impressed while in the South Atlantic League. The 23-year-old has not allowed a run in nine of his 11 appearances with the Crawdads. He currently boasts a 2.35 ERA and .185 opponents' average against over 15 1/3 frames at the High-A level.
Rob Terranova is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobTnova24.
Dodgers greats Newcombe and Campanella made history as Minors teammates
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
15 prospects primed for a bounceback season from injury
A lot of players will be getting a fresh start heading into the 2025 season. Prospects who missed significant time due to injury have had upwards of six months between regular-season games to return to health. Now they'll be looking to re-establish their value and maybe even reach new heights.
Check out the newest Minor League team logos for 2025
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Here are 18 prospects who also starred on the gridiron
The two-time defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs are set to meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and plenty of baseball prospects will be keeping a close eye. After all, many current Minor Leaguers played football at a high level before committing fully to the diamond. No, there aren't any
Did you know the Superdome was once home to a Minor League team?
On Sunday, one of the world’s most-watched sporting events will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Believe it or not, decades before Super Bowl LIX came to town, the same building was home to a Minor League Baseball team for one season. The 1977 Triple-A New Orleans Pelicans
How a Black pitcher's brief PCL stint in 1916 generated a historic card
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2010. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
The Show Before the Show: Episode 489
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minors legend Jones still holds batting record
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2008. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers. Grover "Deacon" Jones spent more than a half-century in baseball, serving the game at almost every level and in
Hooks have a new look -- and more -- on the line for 20th season
In advance of a milestone season at Whataburger Field, the Corpus Christi Hooks are making a change. The Houston Astros' Double-A affiliate unveiled new logos and uniforms on Friday evening, marking the first time they have significantly altered their look since debuting in 2005. According to Hooks general manager Brady
Here's how Jackie Robinson fueled Montreal to a Minor League title in 1946
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
They're due! MiLB's longest active title droughts
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
These players could earn teams extra Draft picks in 2025
Since the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) was implemented under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, four players have earned their clubs extra Draft picks. The PPI rewards teams for promoting their best prospects to the big leagues at the start of the season, enabling them to earn a Draft pick if
Each team's best non-Top 100 prospect
There just isn't enough room to fit all the worthy talents on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. We unveiled our latest rankings last Friday, and now we're going to spotlight the best prospect in each farm system who couldn't quite make the cut. We undertook the same exercise last
MiLB collaborates with Stand Up To Cancer
Minor League Baseball announced a new collaboration with Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C), an organization that funds the development of new and promising cancer treatments to help patients today. Founded in 2008, SU2C raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients.
These are the best tools on the new Top 100 Prospects list
Players featured on last year’s edition of the best tools among Top 100 prospects should look familiar to even casual baseball fans at this point. Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (best fastball, slider) took the Major Leagues by storm as the NL Rookie of the Year, thanks to his hard-throwing ways
Answering your Top 100 Prospects list questions
MLB Pipeline released its new Top 100 Prospects list on Friday, and it was met with a bevy of questions and comments about fans' favorite prospects. To help make sense of all the inquiries, Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo took to Reddit and responded to fan questions in a Top 100 Prospect-focused
Here are every organization's Top 100 prospects for 2025
MLB Pipeline’s 2025 Top 100 Prospects list went live on Friday night, led by the newest Dodger, right-hander Roki Sasaki, Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony and Twins outfielder Walker Jenkins. There’s a lot of offensive firepower throughout the list, beyond those two outfielders at the top, but while the bats
Check out MLB Pipeline's 2025 Top 100 Prospects list
He was one of the most sought-after talents this offseason, and he hadn’t even played stateside ball yet. Now, he can add another bullet point to his already lengthy baseball resume. Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki tops MLB Pipeline’s 2025 preseason ranking of the Top 100 prospects, followed by Red Sox
The Show Before the Show: Episode 488
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Get ready to cheer for ... the Bathtub Donkeys?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to The Baseball Traveler newsletter here.
These are MLB’s No. 1 prospects at each position
MLB Pipeline's 2025 rankings of the Top 10 prospects at each position are official and the 2025 Top 100 Prospects list will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on Friday on MLB Network and MLB.com.