Fort Myers pitcher flirts with no-hitter

By SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

Adam Harben just about made his manager look like a genius.

Prior to Sunday afternoon's ballgame, Fort Myers Miracle manager Riccardo Ingram made a comment in his Lee County Sports Complex office that Harben would throw a no-hitter.

Harben nearly backed up Ingram's prediction, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 1-0 Florida State League victory against the Brevard County Manatees.

Harben was trying to do something that only Brad Thomas was able to accomplish in a Miracle jersey, when he no-hit the Charlotte Rangers on July 12, 1999.

Harben used a 90-plus mph fastball and a sharp, breaking curve to keep Brevard County hitters off balance all day long.

With the no-hitter intact through seven innings, Harben started off the eighth by getting Wandel Campana to strike out on a curveball in the dirt. The ball, however, went through the legs of catcher Kyle Phillips and allowed Campana to reach base.

The next hitter, Ozzie Chavez, sacrificed him to second. Travis Ezi, who had spent the last three weeks at Double-A, looped a 1-0 pitch into left field for the first hit of the game for the Manatees.

With runners at the corners and one out, Harben got Steve Sollman on strikes and then was removed for reliever Jay Sawatski.

Sawatski walked the first man he faced to load the bases, but got Jeff Eure to ground out to end the inning.

Harben went 7 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out a Miracle season-high 12. He threw 105 pitches, 73 of them for strikes.

The Miracle offense didn't light up the board either, getting only three hits.

The game's only run came in the sixth inning. Trent Oeltjen reached on shortstop Chavez's throwing error. He went to third on a Matt Moses single and scored when Phillips grounded into a double play.

Sawatski gave up a hit in the ninth, a two-out single to Eure, but got Campana to ground out to end the game and earn his seventh save of the season.

The Miracle will try to complete a four-game sweep of the Manatees at 1:05 p.m. today at the Lee County Sports Complex.