Friday Blast from the Past (12/14)

This week’s blast from the past is Derrick Van Dusen’s no-hitter at Cedar Rapids on August 27, 2001.

Van Dusen had made sixteen starts for the Timber Rattlers and was 3-4 with a 3.40 ERA. He was facing Vince Lacorte, a 5^th round pick of the Angels in 1999. Lacorte had mainly been a reliever for the Kernels in 2001 and entered the game with a 3-8 record with two saves and an ERA of 4.60.

There was no feeling that the game would be anything memorable. Van Dusen’s previous game had been a good one, but he picked up a no decision at Kane County after allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings. The Rattlers were already in the playoffs and the Kernels were already eliminated from playoff contention.

The big event in Cedar Rapids was supposed to be the next night. That would be the final game ever at old Veterans Memorial Stadium. There was starting to be a celebratory mood as the baseball fans got ready to say good-bye to an old friend and welcome a new one. But, Van Dusen and the Rattlers gave them something to remember.

August 27, 2001 Starting Lineups

Wisconsin			Cedar Rapids
Player	Pos		Player	Pos
Sheldon Fulse	CF		Maximo Pichardo	2B
Blake Bone	DH		Francisco Duran	SS
Jamie Bubela	LF		Mike Napoli	C
Jake Daubert	3B		Zack Roper	1B
Eduardo Figueroa	RF		Angel Valdez	DH
Joe Dusan	1B		Jason Coulie	RF
Ben Hudson	C		Epi Adames	3B
Corey Freeman	SS		Brian Seever	CF
Ariel Durango	2B		Ryan Webb	LF
Derrick Van Dusen	SP		Vince Lacorte	SP

Top 1^st: Fulse grounds out 3u. Bone singles. Bubela triples, Bone scores. Daubert lines out to first. Figueroa walks. Dusan flies out to left. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 1^st: Pichardo walks. Duran walks, Pichardo to second. Napoli strikes out swinging. Roper reaches on fielder’s choice, Pichardo to third, Duran out at second 3-6. With Angel Valdez batting, Pichardo picked off 2-5. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 2^nd: Hudson grounds out 4-3. Freeman strikes out swinging. Durango strikes out swinging. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 2^nd: Valdez grounds out 6-3. Coulie strikes out swinging. Adams grounds out 4-3. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 3^rd: Fulse pops out to second. Bone flies out to right. Bubela singles. Daubert pops out to short. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 3^rd: Seever grounds out 1-3. Webb grounds out 4-3. Pichardo grounds out 6-3. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 4^th: Figueroa grounds out 5-3. Dusan singles. Hudson strikes out swinging. Freeman strikes out swinging. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 4^th: Duran strikes out swinging. Napoli strikes out swinging. Roper grounds out 6-3. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 5^th: Durango grounds out 6-3. Fulse singles. With Bone at bat, Fulse picked off first 1-3. Bone lines out to first. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 5^th: Valdez reaches on E-1. Coulie reaches on fielder’s choice, Valdez out at second 5-4. Adams grounds into 6-4-3 double play, Coulie out at second. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 6^th: Bubela flies out to right. Daubert lines out to short. Figueroa singles. With Dusan at bat, Figueroa steals second. Dusan strikes out looking. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

NOTE: The radio announcer is in an interesting bind at this time. You realize that the pitcher for your team hasn’t allowed a hit yet and is looking very good. This is something your listeners should know, because not everyone tunes in from the first to last pitch. There are always listeners joining in progress. However, there is the superstition about not mentioning a no-hitter. Television announcers don’t have to worry about this because they have graphics on the screen to help. The way I got around it, was something like this: Back at the Vet in Cedar Rapids going into the bottom of the sixth. The Rattlers have one run on six hits with one error. The Kernels have zeroes across the line. Yes, kind of weasely, but that’s me doing the best I can with what I have. Back to the action.

Bottom of 6^th: Seever strikes out swinging out 2-3 at first base. Webb lines out to second. Pichardo strikes out swinging. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 7^th: Hudson singles. Freeman out 3-4 on sacrifice bunt, Hudson to second. Durango reaches on fielder’s choice, Hudson out 5-4. Fulse flies out to left. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 7^th: Duran grounds out 4-3. Napoli strikes out swinging. Roper strikes out swinging. Rattlers 1, Kernels 0.

Top of 8^th: PITCHING CHANGE – Steve Andrade relieves Lacorte. Bone triples. Bubela grounds out 4-3. Daubert singles, Bone scores. Figueroa strikes out swinging. Dusan strikes out swinging. Rattlers 2, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 8^th: Valdez strikes out swinging out 2-3 at first base. Coulie grounds out 6-3. Adams strikes out swinging out 2-3 at first base. Rattlers 2, Kernels 0.

NOTE: You may notice a couple things about Van Dusen at this point in the game. He had a lot of movement on his pitches. There were a pair of 2-3 putouts after strikeouts in that inning. Keep this in mind. It will be somewhat important in the bottom of the ninth. Also, Hudson was not the everyday catcher for the Timber Rattlers at this point in the season. Midwest League All-Star Mark Carroll was getting the night off. Hudson had been a 36^th round pick in the 2001 draft and had not been getting a lot of playing time. He would play only one more game as a Timber Rattler after this game. To the ninth we go...

Top of 9^th: Hudson strikes out swinging out 2-3 at first base. Freeman grounds out 5-3. Durango flies out to center. Rattlers 2, Kernels 0.

Bottom of 9^th: Seever strikes out swinging. Webb pops out to second. Pichardo strikes out…reaches first base on wild pitch. Duran flies out to center. Rattlers 2, Kernels 0. Game over.

It would have been appropriate for this no-hitter to end on Van Dusen’s twelfth strikeout, but it still ended as a no-hitter. That is a pretty nice night in Cedar Rapids.