MINK Notes: A's deliver first no-hitter of 2025, Nevada on the rebound, Mustangs trend toward history
Just as the MINK League completes two full weeks of summer college baseball, a logjam is already present in the standings. Only one game separates the second from sixth in the standings. The games have been tightly contested, but the teams have also had to battle mother nature. Seven games from June 3 through June 9 were postponed due to storms throughout the region. That means more meaningful games pushed into late June and early July as the summer and playoff race heat up.
Bringing their "A" Game
The first no-hitter of the season goes to the Clarinda A's. Starter Noah Benavides mowed down the Nevada Griffons in a 5-0 win on June 12 striking out five and allowing just two baserunners – one walk and one hit batter – through seven innings of work on 75 pitches. For Benavides, though, it was only his second outing of the summer, and his first since May 30. A's manager Ryan Eberly decided to exercise caution and went to his bullpen for the final two frames. Kaleb Hills entered and followed Benavides' lead. The reliever hit two batters in the eighth inning, but struck out a pair to end the frame unscathed. He followed with a perfect ninth inning to finish the no-hitter.
While the pitchers are the story, the Clarinda fielders were terrific all game long. The A's played error-free defense and helped Benavides escape the first and fifth innings with a pair of four-six-three double plays. Clarinda has committed a league-low 11 errors, and are tied for the best fielding percentage in the MINK at .964.
Bouncing back in 2025
Despite coming up on the wrong end of the first no-hitter of the summer, Nevada looks like a rejuvenated squad.
The 2024 season got away from the Griffons early, and they had a hard time recovering on the way to a league-worst 9-27 mark in the MINK. Fast forward one year later and Nevada is already over halfway to that 2024 league win total after 10 games.
The Griffons came out of the gate quickly winning three of its first four, and they've shown an explosive offense. Nevada's averaging 6.1 runs per game, third in the MINK in hits, and tied for second with 18 extra-base hits. They've also scored seven runs or more in six of 10 contests this summer. Bradley Hanlon has been the catalyst early in the season batting .429 with an OPS of 1.136.
Pedal to the Metal
St. Joseph cracked the 40-win mark in 2024 – a rare feat in a summer college baseball season. The Mustangs 40-9 overall record produced the highest win total in the MINK League since the 2014 St. Joseph team won 42 games en route to a championship.
Early signs from the 2025 edition of the Mustangs have them looking like they could join the exclusive club.
St. Joe is 9-1, with the lone 2-1 setback coming in a non-league game. They have scored 10 or more runs six times, and their average margin of victory is 7.2 runs.
The Mustangs are batting a respectable .269 as a team, second in the league behind only the A's, but it's the pitching that puts St. Joseph over the top. The team's 2.16 ERA is a full two runs better than anyone else in the league, their 120 strikeouts are unmatched, and they've limited opponents to a league-low 49 hits and 38 walks through 10 games. Outslugging the Mustangs is a lot to ask, but, to this point, outpitching them seems nearly impossible.
Manager Johnny Coy and company could be in for a historic season if the trends continue.