GRAY – You have to hand it to the number zero. Even if it’s ugly, it’s still beautiful.

Corey Wing walked four, struck out four, and benefited from a pair of unconventional doubleplays as the Locke Mills’ hurler no-hit Cole Farms, 1-0, in Zone Three American Legion Baseball at Gray-New Gloucester High School on Tuesday.

“I had no idea I hadn’t given up any hits,” said Wing. “When I was walking off the field they said no-hit and I said What?’. I gave up a lot of well-hit balls and the defense was there.”

Wing, as did Cole Farms starter Tim Deluca, had trouble with the muddy field conditions from the afternoon deluge and the showers during the game.

“I felt fine but it felt like I had a flat top on out there pitching,” said Wing. “I couldn’t get my footing in.”

Locke Mills (14-3) managed just five hits themselves, one of them a double by rightfielder Shawn Marr. Marr moved to third on a groundout by Travis Brooks and scored on a passed ball.

“They had been telling me that he had been starting me with a change-up, then throw a fastball in there,” said Marr. “I saw it coming and I got a hold of it.”

In a game with limited offensive attraction, both teams came up with excellent defensive plays.

In the first, Wing hit a line drive destined for the left-centerfield gap but Cole Farms’ (6-11) Devin Gill made a diving catch for the out. Kyle Kipikas returned the favor for the Mountaineers in the bottom of the same inning, snagging a line drive off the bat of Louis Bernardini.

Locke Mills then turned a defensive gem into arguably the most important play of the game.

With one out in the second, Devin Gill walked. Kyle Verill grounded back to Wing whose wild throw to second put runners on second and third. Deluca also grounded back to Wing who threw him out at first. Richie Ross saw Gill breaking for home and threw a strike to Anthony Liberti for the third out.

“We did play good defense,” said Locke Mills coach Chris Remington. “Corey struggled with his control and I don’t know if it was the ball. That might have helped him but it also put us in a couple of tough positions.”

Wing did settle down, allowing just one baserunner to reach by way of an error in the last three innings.

“He threw strikes,” said Cole Farms coach Aaron Talon. “We had a couple of chances but we ran ourselves out of innings twice. Timmy (Deluca) on our side threw a heck of a game. Bob Remington their coach said that’s the best pitched game against them all year. They got the one break with the passed ball that we didn’t get.”

“We didn’t get many clutch hits tonight,” said Remington. “But it’s a win.”

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