Green Valley baseball defeats Silverado behind Joseph Steidel | Baseball

Green Valley left-hander Joseph Steidel flirted with a no-hitter Thursday to propel the Gators to a 4-0 home victory over Silverado.

The senior allowed only one hit in six innings, a double down the right-field line in the fifth.

“I felt great. Everything was in sync today,” Steidel said. “I gave everything that I had. I’ve poured so much work into this game over the last couple years that I just have confidence right now that I know I can face anybody out there.”

He struck out nine while walking four of the 22 batters he faced. The Gators (3-4) trusted in Steidel to regain some confidence on the bump, and it worked, coach Manny Llamas Jr. said.

“Joe’s been struggling commanding the zone,” he said, “so giving him that opportunity to get a start and then seeing how he’s doing when he was sitting 60 pitches through five innings, I’m like, ‘This is the best he’s looked in a while, so why not let him finish that pitch count.’”

Green Valley provided early run support, as doubles by seniors TJ Shaw Jr. and Benjamin Byington gave the Gators a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Shaw Jr. led the Gators at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Senior Bridger Knudson recorded his third home run of the season in the fourth inning, launching the ball over the left-field wall to give the Gators a 3-0 lead.

“It felt good,” Knudson said. “Especially in a close game like this.”

The Gators were sound in the field, surrendering no errors and turning a double play in the seventh.

Silverado (2-4) had a strong eye at the plate, amassing six walks, but the Skyhawks’ bats were nonexistent as they struggled to figure out Steidel.

Sophomore Braylon Kolish finished off the one-hitter for Green Valley, allowing two walks with one strikeout in the seventh.

“We did good defensively around our starting pitcher,” Knudson said. “The biggest takeaways are that we can’t take anyone lightly. We got it. We got to stay up, and our guys stay hot. And that’s what we need to do to win games.”

Despite the Gators’ nine hits, Llamas was not satisfied.

“We haven’t hit our mark offensively yet,” he said. “We’re still trying to find the right lineup, but we’re going to keep plugging guys in, and hopefully our guys can contribute. For us, just to continue to find that set rotation, seeing what guys can fit in and certain situations.

“I think our pitching should carry us. We have some guys who can pitch, but if we could command the zone, that’s really what’s gonna give us that edge there.”

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@reviewjournal.com. Follow@jaypowers__ on X.