Fremont, Nebraska - Dylan Driessen and Ryan Semin combined on a no-hitter, as The Fremont Moo defeated The Plainsmen, 8-2, in a game called after eight innings, due to rain, Saturday, at Historic Moller Field. The ILB matchup was moved up three hours to a 4:05 start Saturday, to find a window between rain showers for the game to be played. For the most part, Mother Nature allowed baseball to take place.

After a scoreless first inning, The Plainsmen got on the board in the top of the second. Kobe Sandstrom led off with a walk against Fremont starter Dylan Driessen. Three wild pitches brought Sandstrom around to score, to make it a 1-0, Plainsmen lead.

Fremont got on the scoreboard and took the lead for good in the bottom of the second. Stephen Espinoza led off the inning with a single against Plainsmen starter Reese Kirk. Then, Isaac Bonner singled to put runners at first and third. Dean Reynolds was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Two batters later, Dylan Brandenburg drew a bases loaded walk, scoring Espinoza, to tie the game at 1-1. The next batter, Miles Meadows, hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Bonner, to make it a 2-1 Fremont lead.

The Moo added two more runs in the third. Cooper Fuchino led off the inning with a solo home run, his third of the season, to make it a 3-1 Fremont advantage. Two batters later, Espinoza singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Bonner, and a stolen base, Dean Reynolds hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Espinoza, to make it 4-1, The Moo.

Fremont picked up two more runs in their third straight inning. Leading off the bottom of the fourth, Dylan Brandenburg singled. Two batters later, Josh Blount hit an rbi double, scoring Brandenburg, to make it 5-1. After Fuchino struck out looking, Parker Mooney hit an rbi single, scoring Blount, to make the score 6-1.

The Plainsmen got back on the board in the top of the seventh inning. Against Moo reliever Ryan Semin, Kobe Sandstrom hit a ground ball to third, but Dylan Brandenburg's throw to first was wide, allowing Sandstrom to reach and advance to second. Sandstrom stole third, then two batters later, Marcos Salazar grounded out to second, scoring Sandstrom, to make it a 6-2 game.

In the bottom of the seventh, Dean Reynolds led off the inning with a triple against Plainsmen reliever Brody Boyle. The next batter, Grant Nottlemann, hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Reynolds, to make it a 7-2, Fremont lead. 

Fremont added one more run in the bottom of the eighth. Against reliever Marcos Salazar, Fremont's Parker Mooney hit a fly ball to left that was dropped by Jordan Massis. A Salazar balk advanced Mooney to second base. Then, Stephen Espinoza hit an rbi double, scoring Mooney, to make it 8-2. Fremont pitcher Baylor Hicks got an opportunity to swing the bat as a pinch hitter and popped up to first for the first out. However, the field was too wet to continue with the rain falling, and the game was called, giving Fremont an 8-2 victory, in eight innings.

Fremont (20-14, 7-3) scored eight runs off twelve hits and committed one error. The Plainsmen (1-15, 1-10) tallied two runs with no hits and had one error.

Moo starter Dylan Driessen (2-1) earned the win. Making his final appearance for Fremont on the year, he pitched 6.0 innings, giving up one run with no hits, struck out twelve, walked five and had four wild pitches. Ryan Semin pitched 2.0 innings, giving up no hits, one unearned run with no walks and struck out two.

Plainsmen starter Reese Kirk (0-3) took the loss. He pitched 5.0 innings, giving up six runs off seven hits, struck out four, walked five, yielded a home run to Cooper Fuchino, and had one wild pitch. Brody Boyle pitched 2.0 innings, giving up one run off four hits, walked two and committed a balk. Marcos Salazar pitched 0.1 innings, giving up an unearned run off one hit and committed one balk.

Offensively for Fremont, Miles Meadows was 0-for-5, but drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Josh Blount was 2-for-4 with a run batted in. Cooper Fuchino was 1-for-4 with a solo home run. Parker Mooney was 1-for-4 with an rbi. Stephen Espinoza went 4-for-5 and drove in one run. Dean Reynolds was 1-for-2 and knocked in one run. Grant Nottleman was 0-for-3, but delivered an rbi on a sacrifice fly. Dylan Brandenburg was 2-for-2 with one run batted in.

For The Plainsmen, Marcos Salazar was 0-for-3, with an rbi groundout.

The two teams will play the final game of the four-game series Sunday afternoon at Historic Moller Field. First pitch is 5:05 p.m.

More Information: The combined no-hitter between Dylan Driessen and Ryan Semin was the first no-hitter by Moo pitching since 2021. Sunday's game for The Plainsmen will be their final game of the 2024 season. Sunday's game features "Swing For Wings", presented by Buffalo Wild Wings. Fans can enter at B-Dubs for a chance to swing off the tee and win free wings for a year, with a home run over the fence. Sunday's game is also Family Fun Day. Senior Citizens aged 60-and-over can receive a half-priced general admission or reserved seating ticket. There will also be mini helmet ice cream sundaes for sale at the Moo Eat and Treat Shack, Also, kids ages 6-to-14 get free admission with a valid ID. First pitch of Sunday's game is 5:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Big Dog Country, 98.9 FM and 1340 AM, KHUB. Live audio will also stream live at: www.mixlr.com/fmoo. Live video of the game will be on YouTube at: BSDN Live. Rich Ray and Alex Burstein will have the call, with coverage beginning at 4:45 p.m.