Sullivan threw 72 pitches over five innings and struck out four before giving way to Morse, who pitched the final two innings with help from a defense behind him which made several extra-effort plays to preserve the no-hitter.
“It’s been a long time, it’s just a great feeling for me and my team, and I really think we deserved it.” Only two Hubs reached base.
Otherwise, the Hubs struck out five times, grounded out nine times, and popped out seven times.
Elias Edmondson made a pair of close plays at second base during the sixth inning, catching a short bloop at the edge of the grass, and throwing out the next Hub after bobbling a ground ball.
The next hitter, Kyle Seebach, hit a pop-up to Jake Alston in right field.
Willman and Trey Morse each had two hits.
That realization made him try to place his pitches lower in the strike zone, and his last two strikeouts came without a swing.
Nolan did a great job with that, and I thought we did a great job offensively after the first time through.” Sterling can clinch the division outright with a win Monday at LaSalle-Peru.
If Sterling loses Monday, and Ottawa can defeat Geneseo on Tuesday, the Golden Warriors can also clinch outright – otherwise, Geneseo can clinch a share of the title with a win over the Pirates.
Baseball Sterling 6, Rochelle 0 Star of the game: Nolan Sullivan, Sterling, win, 5 IP, 0 hits, 4 K’s, 2 RBIs Key performers: Trey Morse, Sterling, 2-for-4, 2 IP, 0 hits; Tyler Willman, Sterling, 2-for-4, 2 RBIs Up next: LaSalle-Peru Tournament, Sterling vs. Streator, 4:30 today; Saturday TBD