NEW ORLEANS — Inning by inning, as his no-hitter progressed, pitcher Brian Powell of the New Orleans Zephyrs became more and more of an outcast on his own bench, shunned as part of baseball tradition.
"Everyone just got further and further away from me," Powell said after he no-hit Omaha 5-0 on Sunday. "Finally, I had to ask (pitching coach Jim) Hickey a question just so I wouldn't feel so dad-gum alone."
When he finished the 5-0 victory, Powell had pitched the first no-hitter at Zephyr Field. Only two errors kept him from having a perfect game.
Powell (2-1) faced 29 batters in nine innings and struck out two. He retired 19 on ground balls and six on fly balls. He had a perfect game until the sixth inning when shortstop Adam Everett made a fielding error.
The only other Omaha runner to reach base came in the eighth inning when first baseman Kevin Burns pulled his foot off the bag. Omaha manager John Mizerock shrugged off whether it should be ruled a hit or an error.
"No hit, one hit, same result for us," he said.