Ohtani, Ruth, Brady Ware: UIndy player hits for cycle and throws no-hitter in same game
What do you do for an encore when your name is being mentioned on national television in the same sentence as one of the best baseball players on Earth, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani?
How do you follow up a performance that has never been done in college or the pros for as long as stats have been recorded?
Those were questions UIndy two-way player Brady Ware had to answer one day after hitting for the cycle and throwing an 11-strikeout no-hitter against Drury University Friday during the second game of a doubleheader.
All of the amazing feats Ware completed against Drury are special enough to qualify as career highlights. Ware, a graduate transfer from tiny NAIA University of St. Katherine in San Marcos, Calif., packed three rare accomplishments into a seven-inning game.
He's the first UIndy player to throw a no-hitter since Jordan Tackett in 2015. He's the first Greyhound to hit for the cycle since Jake Hartley in 2013.
"It's been pretty crazy," Ware said of the last 24 hours. "I don't think it really set in right away, but last night getting all the notifications, my teammates texting me — it's been pretty surreal."
Ware's feat was mentioned on Sportscenter and highlighted on MLB.com. The Ponway, Calif. native said the coolest person he's heard from so far is former Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden. Braden knows a little bit about making history. He became the 19th pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game when he blanked the Tampa Bay Devils Rays in 2010.
"I wasn't really thinking about the cycle," Ware said. "I feel like that's something that just kind of comes along. But I think once I got into the fourth or fifth inning and I realized I had no hits going, I definitely had a different mindset going out there but just trying to stay relaxed."
The lefty completed the cycle in reverse order, homering to right field and tripling into right center past a diving outfielder during an eight-run second inning. He doubled down the left-field line in the third inning and completed the cycle with a single in the fifth. Ware finished the 4-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored. The breakout game raised Ware's batting average from .288 to .329.
UIndy's cleanup hitter has been steady at the plate. The stellar performance on the mound was a bit more surprising. Ware hadn't thrown more than three innings during an appearance all season. He entered Friday's start allowing five hits and four earned runs over his last 3⅓ innings.
UIndy coach Al Ready said Ware's ability to command his changeup led to the dominant performance.
"(Ware) hadn't really pitched a whole lot and then this past week he threw a great bullpen session, and my pitching coach (Adam Cornwell) was like, 'I think he's ready,'" Ready said. "He had the changeup, that's his best pitch. ... His fastball is in the mid to upper 80s and that makes his changeup play up a little bit more. He's got a good breaking ball too.
"When you see the swings-and-misses, the hitters just didn't look comfortable from the first pitch to the last pitch. That's when you know you got it. You're gonna have a special day as a pitcher."
Ready wasn't sure if Ware would play Saturday after the constant barrage of messages kept his star player from getting much sleep after the historic game. In the early afternoon ahead of the noon start at Bill Bright Field, Ware was ready to man his spot in the lineup while serving as the designated hitter against Drury.
Ware made solid contact throughout the game, but nothing could find a hole. He came to the plate with two runners on, trailing by three runs in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to add another monumental moment to his otherworldly last 24 hours. But his line drive was snagged at first base, doubling off Caleb Vaughn and ending the Greyhounds threat. Ware finished 0-for-3 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Drury earned a 6-3 win.
The win could ease the sting for a Drury team on the opposite end of a viral moment. In today's social media age, receiving constant reminders of your team's futility could be a tough thing to bounce back from.
After Friday's loss to UIndy, Panthers coach Scott Nasby kept things brutally honest with his players.
"We talked in the huddle and said, 'tomorrow cannot be worse than this game,'" Nasby said. "We were the ones who were actually here on the field, we could have done something about it, and we didn't.
"I'm proud of our guys. We've got a fairly young group and to be able to respond to good adversity is what we talked about."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: UIndy's Brady Ware hits for cycle and throws no-hitter in same game
