Fallbrook High's Hoff tosses a no-hitter

Fallbrook High School junior Collin Hoff threw a no-hitter in Fallbrook's 4-0 victory over Valley Center at Duke Snider Field May 10.

"He had a lot of confidence and command," said Fallbrook coach Patrick Walker. "Just had to get through that first-inning jitters."

Hoff allowed two of his four walks in the initial frame.

"He struggled a little bit in the first," said Walker. "He got out of it in a tough situation."

Hoff, who retired the side on four pitches in the fifth inning, threw 82 pitches during the game.

"He got a lot of ground ball outs," said Walker. "He had great control. He got both his curveball and his changeup over for strikes."

Hoff's fastball reached 81 mph. "He was throwing with some good velocity," Walker said.

Four Jaguars batters struck out against Hoff.

"He didn't have a lot of strikeouts," Walker said. "He just had a lot of ground ball outs."

Hoff became the first Fallbrook pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Andy White no-hit Great Oak in Temecula on March 17, 2015. Fallbrook's previous no-hitter at home was thrown by Chase Johnson against El Camino on April 10, 2008.

"It doesn't happen very often," Walker said.

At the plate, Hoff had one of Fallbrook's five hits, all singles, along with a walk. He scored twice, drove in a teammate, and stole a base. The one hit in three at-bats dropped Hoff's season batting average from .400 to .397.

"Pretty amazing," said Walker of Hoff's batting average.

Two of Fallbrook's hits were off the bat of junior Luke Cherry, who also drove in a run. Fallbrook's other two runs were driven in by freshman Zack Allegro.

"We hit the ball on the ground like we preached and forced them to make the plays," said Walker. "We were very aggressive on the base paths, which helped. We got ourselves in scoring position."

The league victory was Fallbrook's second of the season.

"It was a little of everything," said Walker. "It was definitely a team win for sure. That was with a bunch of younger freshmen starting."

Walker did not use the designated hitter May 10, so only nine players started. The lineup consisted of three freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors, and one senior. The Warriors did not substitute for any of the nine starters.

"We were rolling," said Walker.

The Warriors handed Escondido the Cougars' first league loss April 24 when Allegro threw a four-hit complete game.

"That was a huge win for us," said Walker.

Escondido entered the home game with a 15-3 overall record including a 3-0 Valley League mark.

Ramona was undefeated in league play May 5 when Fallbrook led the Bulldogs by a 5-1 margin after 5 1/2 innings before Ramona tied the score in the bottom of the sixth and then scored the final run in the eighth for a 6-5 victory.

"We're young, but we're competing against some really good teams," Walker said.

Hoff's no-hit victory gave Fallbrook a 5-17 overall record for the season including a 2-7 Valley League figure. "I'm really loving how the kids are coming along," said Walker.