By Francis Ferry, NLN baseball writer
August 19, 2017: Aurora, Colorado – In a season mostly devoid of any thing to cheer for, as Aurora has spent most of the summer hovering around the .500 mark – and bouncing around in 4th place, Darryl Lewis gave the Borealis fans in attendance something special as the team continues their recent surge to put the Tempe Knights farther behind them in the standings (they are now 4 games up on the Knights) and as they rapidly gain ground on second place Reno (they are now just 3.5 games back) – the franchises second no-hitter!

‘Quagmire’, acquired from Arlington during the offseason in a deal that sent Rod Johnson to the Imperial League, walked two and struck out nine as he dominated the Knights while running his season record to 11-2 and lowering his ERA to 2.53 – 4^th best in the SL.

Tempe seemed in trouble from the opening pitch as Lewis struck out the first two Knights on seven pitches. When Aurora came to the plate in the third it was time for the rookie brigade to begin to make its mark on the night. SS Nick Giles walked, followed by CF Mathew Ferrell and RF Ronald McCall singles to plate what would ultimately become the winning run. Singles by Al Edwards and Scott Vinson plated two more and Aurora was off to a 3-0 lead.

Lewis looked very sharp as Knight after Knight fought off tough pitches. It wasn’t until the 4^th that he even went to a 3 ball count as Tempe hoped to get something going when Tomás Gonzáles battled ‘Quagmire’ for a one out walk, then stole second, but that was all Tempe could muster – and as close to scoring on the night as they would come.

Aurora would plate another run in the 5^th as Matt Ferrell led off with a single and scored on a double by Edwards. The rookie Ferrell is having an excellent first year in Aurora after a slow start. In 29 games and an even 100 AB he’s hitting .330 with 3 HR and 15 RBI. He also was awarded the PEBA SL Player of the Week Award for the first week of August. Aurora would like to see his paltry .343 OBP improve, but for now he’s playing every day and contributing to what has suddenly become a winning cause.

Ferrell’s defense also shined as he made a running catch deep in right center off the bat of José Morán in the 3^rd that preserved the no-hitter and kept the Knights from gaining some momentum. He also can move in on the ball as he made a nice running catch to rob Robin Kenney of a hit on a shallow blooper in the 6^th.

Ferrell wasn’t the only one flashing the leather as Mike Britt made a diving stab at a liner in the hole between 1^st and 2^nd to take a sure hit away from former Aurora farm hand Gabriel López. Ronald McCall made a fantastic grab of a ball in the right centerfield alley to rob Morán of extra bases in the 8^th. In all, Tempe hit a number of balls long, but the Borealis were able to run them down.

As Lewis entered the 9^th the fans, all 40,894 rose to their feet and cheered every pitch as Kenney rolled one meekly to Britt for the first out. A groan rose through the crowd as López coaxed a walk out of ‘Quagmire’, his second of the day, but Raúl García poped up to Edwards at 3^rd and then Gonzáles lofted a lazy fly ball to Pierce in left and Darryl Lewis joined ‘Slappy’ Bradley as the only two pitchers in Aurora history to throw a no-hitter.

Aurora plated a fifth run when Cory Pierce led off the 6^th with a single, moved to 3^rd on a Keller double and scoring on a Giles single. They would close out the scoring with a Vinson 2-run HR in the 7^th and an RBI single by Giles in the 8^th. Vinson’s HR, his 20^th of the season, gives Aurora three 20 HR hitters, along with Mike Britt and Bob Keller (both at 22). It’s a matter of time until Cory Pierce joins them as he sits at 19.