Carson Miller's no-hitter silences Canal Winchester dugout

LANCASTER – Canal Winchester’s dugout did everything they could to get into Carson Miller’s head. They were chirping at him the entire game. Miller noticed, and in hindsight, maybe the Indians should have kept the smack-talk to themselves because it only made Miller that much more determined to shut them up.

Miller did that and more by tossing a complete-game no-hitter. I game that Golden Gales had to win, Miller was electric on the mound, and his teammates backed him by banging out 10 hits to help propel Lancaster to a 7-0 Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division win in front of a huge crowd on Youth Night at England Field. The victory sets up a huge showdown on Monday at Newark (17-3).

The Gales (16-4) and Wildcats both stand at 12-1 in the conference. It’s a winner-take-all game for the conference championship. More: Lancaster softball tops Chillicothe, extends win streak to 10 games Even though Miller heard all the talk coming from the Canal Winchester dugout, he made sure never to let himself lose focus on the task at hand.

He finished with 12 strikeouts, including six in the final three innings. All the chirping made him even more determined. “I definitely feed into the chirping of the game, and it gives me extra motivation,” Miller said.