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Springville • Spanish Fork sophomore Cy Nielson threw a no-hitter for six innings, then got himself out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh to secure a 6-0 win over Springville in the opening game of a Region 7 doubleheader on Tuesday evening.

Springville won the second game 3-1, handing the Dons their first region loss of the season. The teams played the twinbill because rain is in the forecast for Thursday.

In the opener, Nielson struck out 12 and the only pass he issued was a hit-by-pitch that factored into the Red Devil rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Springville managed to load the bases with no outs after making the team's only hits of the night, a leadoff double by senior Charlie Fry and a single by senior Jantsen Thorpe.

Nielsen responded by bearing down and fanning the next three batters to leave all three runners stranded.

The only other base runner for the home squad in the contest came on a two-out error in the third inning.

"It was his best outing of the year," said Don coach Casey Nelson. "He really pounded the zone. He doesn't throw a lot of strikes sometimes but he did a good job today. He's got a bright future."

Nielson is a left-hander who just barely turned 16. He's already 6-foot- 2 and close to 190 pounds and looked intimidating on the bump.

He wasn't at all concerned about losing the no-hitter, just making sure his team came out on top.

"When somebody loads the bases with no outs, I get the feeling I can't let them score, or it might continue and get worse and worse," Nielsen said. "If you want to win, you do whatever it takes."

The pitcher noted that center fielder Brady Brook made some good plays to save some potential extra-base hits. Spanish Fork's efficient offense didn't hurt either.

"In the first inning when we scored that one run, I was immediately more comfortable," Nielson said. "I felt like I could let them hit a little more and trust my defense to help me get outs."

The Dons had no big scoring innings but slowly built an advantage one run at a time.

"We had quality at-bats," Nelson said. "It was a slow bleed there, nothing spectacular but what we practice, which we call OEC [offensive execution criteria]. "Our goal is to score one run each inning," the coach added. "We aren't looking to pull the ball, just hit solid liners. When we do, we win games." —

Storylines

R Spanish Fork shuts out Springville to solidify first place in the Region 8 standings.

• The teams play a twinbill in anticipation of poor weather on Thursday. The Devils win the second game 3-1.

• The split hands the Dons the first league loss of the season and moves them to 17-3 overall, 7-1 in Region 7. Springville is in second at 13-8, 6-4.