Miami Beach senior strikes out 18 in no-hitter against Coral Gables

It’s one thing to throw a complete game, seven-inning no-hitter. But it’s another when you do it in such dominating fashion.

Such was the case for Miami Beach pitcher Nolan Santos on Monday night when his Hi-Tides team hosted Coral Gables at Flamingo Park.

Not only did Santos fire a no-hitter at the Cavaliers, but he struck out an eye-popping 18 batters (out of a possible 21) along the way as Beach won its district opener 2-0.

“Some nights you have one particular pitch that’s working better than another but against Gables, I had the whole arsenal working,” said Santos, who has signed with Broward Community College on the junior college level but is gathering momentum and now has offers from St. Thomas University and Barry. “Change up, slider, curve, fastball, you name it, it was all there for me.”

The Hi-Tides (2-2, 1-0) didn’t have a ton of offense, but Angel Vizcaino and Oliver Rojas each had RBI singles in the first three innings and Santos took it from there. He allowed just three base runners the entire game on two walks and a hit batter.

“Honestly, that might have been one of the best pitching performances on the high school level I’ve seen in my lifetime,” said Beach head coach Juan Cordero, who saw his share of quality pitching as a long-time assistant under Tom Duffin at Monsignor Pace. “And Gables has got a great team so it’s not like he didn’t do against a quality opponent.”

Cordero said as good as Santos was as a junior last season (he fired a three-hitter in a 1-0 regional final loss to Columbus), it was this past offseason where he really made the jump.

“Nolan worked his tail off during the offseason,” said Cordero. “We got him in the weight room, bulked him up and he gained 25 pounds. Now he looks like a real man out on that mound and we’re hoping to get the interest of FIU and the University of Miami because we think this young man can pitch at the highest level.”

BASEBALL

▪ Miami High 4, South Miami 3: WP - Bryan Delmonte (2-0) 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 K; Daniel Liota 3-2, 1 R, 1 RBI; Andres Garcia 1-3, 2B, 1 RBI.

▪ Miami Springs 17, Goleman 0: Anthony Nuñez 3-3, 2B, HR, RBI; Lazaro Hernandez 3-4, 2 RBI; Steven Torres 2-2, HR, 5 RBI; Carlos Rey 2-3, HR, 3 RBI; WP: Erick Argote, 3 IP, 6 Ks. MS: 3-0.

▪ Central 12, Northwestern 8: Charles Dorsey, Amari Harvey, Abdullah Rosiclair 2 RBI each; Alejandro Lopez and Deidrick Dansby 2.5 IP each; CEN: 2-1.

▪ Killian 5, Palmetto 2: WP- Daniel King 2 R (1 ER), 5 Ks, 2 BB; Romeo Sanabria 3-4, 2B; Matthew Krtausch 1-2, 2 RBI, HR; Ernesto Medina 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI.

▪ Southwest 4, Columbus 2: WP- Brandon Andrade 4 H, 7 K; S - Amaury Villalba; Alex Pereira 2 RBI; Lorenzo Hernandez 2 RBI; Jordan Worley 2-3; Angel Ponce de Leon 2-3; SW: 4-0.

SOFTBALL

▪ Krop 16, North Miami 1: WP - Irene Lainez; Kirra Magana 2-3, 3B, 4 RBI; Jaylene Thomlinson 1-3, 2 RBI.

▪ Palmetto 15, South Dade 5: WP Ashley Sutta (3-0); Madison Ferreira 2-4, 3 RBI; April Bonwit 2-5, 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI; Alexis Ortega 1-1, 1 R, 2 RBI; PAL: 4-1.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

▪ Belen 3, Varela 1: Eric Diaz 16 kills, 15 digs; Joseph Perez 6 kills, 17 digs; Herman Suarez 28 assists, 11 digs, 3 kills; Gabriel Suarez 18 digs; BEL: 3-0.

▪ Westland Hialeah 3, Mater Academy 1 (25-15, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19): Chritian Sieza 10 kills, 5 blocks; Randi Gonzalez 15 kills; Rudy Oliva 15 kills, 5 blocks; Michael Gonzalez 12 kills, 4 blocks; WH: 2-3.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

▪ Palmetto 21, Gulliver Prep 3: Shannyn Cullen 5 goals, 2 assists, 4 forced turnovers, 6 ground balls, 6 draw controls; Sofia Aguirre 5 goals, 1 assist, 1 ground ball; Cat Lederman 5 goals, 1 assist; Olivia Clark 2 goals, 3 forced turnovers, 3 ground balls; Isabella Mendoza 1 goal; Vanessa Serrano 1 goa, 1 assist, 1 forced turnover, 2 ground balls, 2 draw controls; Sofia Siscuso 1 goal; Olivia Rodrigue 3 ground balls, 5 draw controls; Alexandra Arias 3 saves.

BOYS’ WATER POLO

▪ Hialeah 8, Miami Beach 3: Silvio Hernandez blocked 16 of 19 shots on goal; Lester Machado 5 goals; Adrian Mena 2 goals, 5 steals; Daniel Picot 2 assists, 5 steals; HHS: 5-0.

GIRLS’ WATER POLO

▪ Hialeah 30, Miami Beach 3: Paola Dominguez 9 goals, 6 assists, 5 steals, 3 exclusions drawn; Alejandra Arenguren 9 goals, 5 assists, 1 steal; HHS: 4-0.

BOYS’ TENNIS

▪ Gulliver Prep 7, Belen 0: Kolesnikov 8-1; Gore 8-0; Rahman 8-1; Dalmau 8-0; Dimise 8-0; Brooks/Gonzalez 8-5; Menendez/Dimise 8-0.

▪ Archbishop McCarthy 7, St. Brendan 0: Vik Chary 8-0; Nick Ramirez 8-0; Chary/Ramirez 8-0.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

▪ Calvary Christian 5, Donna Klein 2

▪ Carrollton 6, Riviera Prep 1: Jimena Menendez 8-2; Anais Leichtling 8-0; Julietta Menendez 8-1; CAR: 4-0.

▪ Archbishop McCarthy 6, St. Brendan 1: Erica Tong 8-4; Cata Gonzalez Umana 8-0; Rhea Kassan 8-6; Katherine Cabrero 8-6; Manuela Ramirez 9-7; Gonzalez Umana/Cabrero 8-4.

Have scores to report? Send them to HSSports@miamiherald.com.

This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 4:05 PM.