Zach Brown faced Linn-Mar in the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball tournament in May and twirled a no-hitter.

The Lions faced Brown again Wednesday at Xavier hoping for a little pay back.

But it was not to be.

Brown gave up two runs on only three hits in six innings and beat Linn-Mar again to win Game 2 of a doubleheader, 3-2, and earn a split for the night. Linn-Mar won the opener, 8-2.

“Brown locates his pitches, hits his spots, and mixes his speeds,” explained Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner. “He has proven hard to hit.”

“Brown throws what is called a 'heavy ball,'” said Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel.  “That makes him hard to square up on. You’re going to win a lot of games with that kind of pitching.”

“Linn-Mar is a very good team,” explained Brown.  “I really get focused and up for them.  It’s very satisfying to get two wins against a solid team like they are.”

Game one saw Justin Wyant go the distance and get the win on a six-run Linn-Mar seventh inning.

“We lost to them in the Metro tournament and so we were more up and prepared for them tonight,” said Wyant.  “I like pitching in close games.  It makes me more focused and my team is more competitive.”

Brandt Ollinger led the Lion offensive attack in the opener going 2-for-4, scoring a run, and driving in two.

“I have been working on trying not to be too aggressive,” said Ollinger.  “I need to stay closed, let the ball travel, and lay off the pitches out of the strike zone.”

“Xavier is a good team,” said Coach Lechner.  "We got some timely hits in the first game and we had our chances in the second game, too. We just didn’t come through.”

Xavier (9-7, 4-6) was led by Brown who had two hits in the first game and got the RBI single in Game 2 that proved to be the margin of victory.

“I got a fastball on the inside half and I turned on it,” said Brown. “It got through the left side and got the run home."

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Mitch Keller hit a home run that cleared the left-field wall to tie up the game.

“I got a change-up out over the plate and looked to hit a line drive,” said Keller.  “It got out for my first home run this year.”

Three batters later, Adam Pick took a fastball over the right-field fence to give the Saints a 2-1 lead.

“Coming off of that tough loss in Game 1, I just wanted to do something to pick up my teammates,” said Pick.  “I got a fastball up and it was gone.”

Linn-Mar (10-9, 6-4) was led offensively by Mitch Stickney and Austin Stroschein, who each drove in a run in the nightcap.

“In Game 1, we made five errors,” said Coach Schemmel.  “We’re not going to win a game with five errors.  We were mentally tough enough to turn it around and win Game 2.  Consistency is key.”

GAME 1

LINN-MAR (8): Mortensen, cf, 4 2 1 0, Strellner, ss, 3 1 0 0, Stickney, rf, 2 0 1 0, Stroschein, 3b, 2 1 0 0, Roth, lb, 3 1 0 0, Banks, c, 3 2 1 2, Ollinger, 2b, 4 1 2 2, Jacobs, dh, 4 0 0 0, Wyant, p, 0 0 0 0,  Jennings, lf, 4 0 1 1. Totals 29 8 6 5.

XAVIER (2): Grimm, cf, 3 0 2 1, Woods, ss/3b, 3 0 0 0, Pick, 1b/p, 3 0 0 0, Brown, 3b, 3 0 2 0, Ratz, rf, 4 0 0 0, Hammerberg, dh, 3 0 0 0, Dlouhy, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Meaney, lf, 2 1 1 0, Helms, c, 1 1 0 0, Schulte, ph, 0 0 0 0, Drahozal, lf, 0 0 0 0, Keller, p/ss, 2 0 0 0. Totals 23 2 5 1.

Linn-Mar   000 110 6 - 8 6 2
Xavier       000 020 0 - 2 5 5

Wyant and Banks. Keller, Pick (5), and Helms.  W - Wyant.  L - Keller. 2B - Banks, Brown. SB - Banks.

GAME 2

LINN-MAR (2): Mortensen, cf, 3 0 0 0, Strellner, ss, 4 0 0 0, Stickney, rf, 1 0 1 1, Stroschein, p/1b, 2 0 0 1, Roth, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Banks, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Ollinger, c, 3 0 1 0, Reimer, cr, 0 0 0 0, Kane, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Jennings, p, 1 0 0 0, Bettman, p, 0 0 0 0, Larson, lf, 2 2 1 0. Totals 23 2 3 2.

XAVIER (3): Grimm, cf, 3 0 0 0, Woods, 3b/p, 3 0 1 0, Pick, 1b, 1 1 1 1, Brown, p/3b, 3 0 1 1, Miller, cr, 0 0 0 0, Ratz, rf, 3 0 0 0, Hammerberg, c, 3 0 1 0, Robinson, cr, 0 0 0 0, Meaney, lf, 2 0 1 0, Herder, dh, 3 0 0 0, Dlouhy, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Keller, ss, 3 2 1 1, Clarahan, pr, 0 1 0 0.  Totals 24 3 7 3.

Linn-Mar     001 010 0 -  2 3 1
Xavier         002 010 x - 3 7 0

Stroschein, Jennings (5), Bettmann (6), and Ollinger.  Brown, Woods (7), and Hammerberg.  W - Brown. L - Jennings. Sv - Woods. 2B - Larson, Woods. HR - Keller, Pick. SB - Stickney 2.