'That's something you kind of dream about as a pitcher'

HAMLER -- There's little question that Elmwood pitcher Landon Snow was excellent in Wednesday's Division VI regional semifinal against Marion Local.Snow threw a seven-inning no-hitter, striking out 10 in the Royals 8-0 win.But his catcher, teammate Colton Bradford, made a comment that should thrill Elmwood fans and terrify any hitters who might have to face Snow at a later date."I don't even think he had his best stuff today," Bradford said. "He was a little bit wild, walked a couple people. He still pitched a great game." In fact, Snow handed out seven free passes and hit a batter. When asked if he thought Snow had a better game in him, Bradford replied, "I do."But Snow was brilliant in sending the Royals into today's regional final against Evergreen, which beat Colonel Crawford 6-1 in Wednesday's other semifinal. First pitch will be at 5 p.m. at Garrold Parratt Field in Hamler."I really had my fastball working, and (I was) attacking the zone early," Snow said.After throwing a pair of strong innings to start the game, Elmwood's hitters went to work in the top of the third. The Royals collected three hits and took advantage of two walks, a hit batter and an error to put up five runs.Snow helped himself with an RBI bunt single, and Marshall Taft slapped a two-run single in the inning.The offensive burst spelled the end for Marion Local pitcher Ian Rindler, who went 2 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs. He took the loss. Spotted to a 5-0 lead, Snow retired the first hitter he faced in the bottom of the third, but then walked the next three to load the bases.Bradford and Elmwood coach Matt Malecha went out to the mound."I just told him, 'Hey, that's just a blip in how good you've been pitching,'" Malecha said. "'For three batters, you didn't have your stuff but you've been pitching great...so let's just refocus.'""I got a little nervous, I got the bases loaded," Snow said, "but I knew I could trust my defense, so I decided to attack the zone and clear my head."Snow faced the Flyers' No. 3 batter, Ethan Heitkamp. He struck him out.Now, with two down, Snow had to go against Marion Local's Hayden Poeppleman, who came in with a team-leading seven homers.The count went full. On the payoff, Poeppleman hit a ball hard and deep to centerfield, but Elmwood's Kason Hammer got a good read on it, and made the catch just before reaching the wall."Kason was in the right spot," Malecha said. "It's not an easy play to be that close to the fence and keep your focus, so he did a great job."Elmwood added two runs in the top of the fourth to go up 7-0. The big hit was an RBI double by Bradford that went over the right fielder's head."I feel like, in playoff baseball, the team that can play their style of baseball the most consistent is the team that keeps advancing, and that's a part of our style," Malecha said. "Wear pitches, draw walks, try to put the ball in play at a high rate, try to cut down on the strikeouts."After getting out of the jam in the third, Snow retired the next seven hitters. He got help from leftfielder Zack Gross, who made a diving, tumbling catch to rob Marion Local's Drew Lause of a leadoff single in the fifth."Huge credit to Landon, obviously," Malecha said, "but I think his defense also deserves a lot of credit for that performance."Meanwhile, Snow kept getting closer to a no-hitter, even if that wasn't the first thing on the Elmwood staff's mind."I don't think I knew he had a no-hitter until, I don't know, the fifth or sixth inning," Malecha said.Snow worked around a pair of walks in the sixth. In the top of the seventh, an RBI single by Aidan Marsh pushed the Royals' lead to 8-0.With that advantage, Snow took the mound in the bottom of the seventh.He retired the first hitter, then walked the next. After Marion Local's Griffin Bruns reached on an error, the Flyers' Ian Rindler grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out.Heitkamp then flied to Gross to end the game and secure the no-hitter. Gross was mobbed by his teammates."Could not be more proud of Landon Snow, in a moment like that, to go out there and have that performance," Malecha said. "That's something you kind of dream about as a pitcher."Now, Elmwood will turn its attention to another thing players dream about: A regional championship and a berth in next week's state semifinal.It will be a short turnaround for the Royals, so how will they prepare?"I don't think we've got to change a thing," Bradford said. "I think we've been playing great baseball.""Just have our other pitchers come out, dominate, trust the defense," Snow said of today's game.That formula certainly worked for him.