By Kyle Roberts

How often can you say you no-hit a district opponent over an entire weekend series?

That was the case for both sophomore pitcher Talan Billberry and then senior pitcher Nick Robinson as the duo led Ruston to back-to-back wins over West Ouachita first 11-0 in five innings on Thursday and then 9-0 on Saturday.

“I thought Talan threw really well for us on Thursday,” Ruston head coach Zack Smith said. “He really kept his ball down in the zone and let his defense do the work getting ground balls. It’s what he does; he throws a sinker. It helped that we really came out swinging the bats well. I’m really proud of how our hitters adjusted to their pitching.”

Ruston scored multiple runs in all four innings at the plate before recording a ten-run rule after the top of the fifth inning. Ruston totaled 13 hits in the home contest with senior J.R. Tollett leading the way with three hits and one RBI.

Billberry was credited with the win after throwing 5.0 complete innings, striking out five batters and walking two.

On Saturday, it was Robinson’s turn for a memorable day, striking out 13 batters and only walking one. Of the 94 pitches Robinson hurled, 64 were strikes.

“It was the best I’ve seen him pitch,” Smith said of Robinson. “That ball was sinking. They could not figure him out; they were swinging over the top of it all day. He had the one walk, so he missed on a perfect game. We battled at the plate again and adjusted to their pitching. Overall, it was a complete weekend. I really thought we played well.”

This time, Ruston would get 11 hits total with junior Gabe Gaudet getting three hits at his three recorded at-bats.

Now at 17-7, Ruston only has a couple of weeks left to get ready for postseason play. Smith said that even with the near perfect weekend, he is still challenging the Bearcats to compete and play great baseball.

“Great teams show up and take care of business,” Smith said. “We did that this weekend. I’m very pleased with that.”