By Rich Chrampanis
MIDDLETOWN – It was cold and windy on the back end of Middletown South’s campus for the start of the 2022 high school baseball season. With gusts of wind blowing out to left field, it was not ideal at all for a pitcher who could easily see a fly ball turn into a home run. Eagles junior starter Ben Schild had a simple recipe to avoid that scenario: The right hander threw strikes, effectively taking the bat right out of his opponent’s hands.
In the Eagles 6-0 win against Freehold Township, Schild struck out 16 batters and walked just one on the way to a no-hitter. After issuing a walk in the first inning, Schild had pinpoint control in less than ideal conditions.
“I tried to figure out the wind in the bullpen,” Schild said. “Whenever there was kind of a big gust, I stepped off and got back in my rhythm. I kind of have been used to it pitching here.”
Two Patriots reached base thanks to errors in the infield but other than that no one reached base. Schild was able to mix and match his low 90s fastball along with great off-speed pitches to keep Freehold Township off balance.
“I came in feeling really good today,” Schild said after his no-hitter. “They kind of beat us bad last year a few times and I just felt really good and I wanted to go out and do my best, which luckily I could do for the team.”
The Eagles got on the board in the third inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Joe Stanzione and then broke the game open in the fifth with a five-run frame featuring two-run singles by Evan Wood and Joe Bartos sandwiched in between a Lou D’Alessio RBI single.
Schild was supposed to be on an 85-pitch count but when he cruised through the middle innings, South head coach Chris LeMore gave him the green light to go the distance and his 95th pitch of the game was his 16th strikeout. Pitching at that level takes an incredible amount of focus and the proof came in his post-game interview when he admitted he wasn’t aware that he was throwing a no-hitter.
“I didn’t know until my teammates came out after and told me it was a no-hitter,” Schild said. “I had no idea. I was just happy to finish the game to be honest. I was so happy to get that strikeout.”
The last time Ben Schild was on the hill for Middletown South, he threw a complete game 2-hit shut-out against Montclair to give the Eagles the 2021 state championship. The University of Connecticut commit picked up right where he left off, serving notice that Middletown South will be contending once again to make it to the middle of June to defend their crown.
The article originally appeared in the April 7-13, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
