Anchorage Daily News

With his dad and a slew of scouts watching and his teammates talking about things they shouldn't have been talking about, Jered Weaver pitched a no-hitter Wednesday night for the Anchorage Bucs.

Weaver, a high-velocity right-hander from Long Beach State, struck out 12 in a 12-0 victory over the Omaha Strike Zone. The game, coming in the final day of round-robin action in the Bucs' Wood Bat Invitational, lasted seven innings.

That old adage about not saying a word about a no-hitter in progress less you jinx the pitcher? Not true, Weaver said.

"Everyone says if you say 'no-hitter' the pitcher's not gonna get one, but everyone was jibbering about it and I got the no-hitter," Weaver said.

He got it thanks to a blistering fastball and an effective curveball. And he got despite a couple of long early innings on the mound -- he needed 30 pitches to escape the second and 21 to get out of the third -- as well as some long innings in the dugout.

In the first, the Bucs sent six men to the plate and scored two runs. In the second, the Bucs batted around and put up four runs as Weaver waited.

But with 77-degree weather at the start of the game, Weaver at least didn't need to worry about getting cold and stiff.

Weaver struck out the side in the first and seventh innings and only faced three batters over the minimum. Four men reached base -- two on walks, one by getting hit by a pitch and one on a fielders choice -- only one advanced past first base.

The Bucs had no shortage of offense to support Weaver, who improved to 5-1. Craig Stansberry drove in three runs and Casey McGehee, who played the final three innings, drove in two with a seventh-inning home run.

The game was the last of the season for the Bucs, who were 2-4 in round-robin action and failed to advance to today's semifinals. Omaha was 0-6 in the tournament.

Of the 21 outs recorded by the Bucs, Weaver accounted for a dozen of them single-handedly.

But the biggest out came courtesy of center fielder Terry Trofholz, who saved the no-hitter with a sliding catch at the wall with two outs in the sixth inning. Trofholz had his back to the plate when he made the grab.

"I thought that one was gone," Weaver said. "He made a great play. You gotta give it up to him."

The no-hitter was the first for Weaver, and it came with his dad, Dave, watching from the Mulcahy Stadium bleachers. Also on hand were several Major League scouts, who already know something about Weaver pitching. Jered's brother Jeff is a starter for the New York Yankees.

"I'm glad I got to do it in front of my dad," Weaver said. "That was special."