The Madisonville baseball team split their first two league matchups against the district’s top two projected squads with a 3-0 victory in Robinson Friday and a 5-1 loss to China Spring at MHS Monday. In Friday’s district opener, pitcher Rayce Hudson recorded a no-hitter in the team’s shutout win.

“(Hudson) pitched a great game,” said head coach Adam Borgfeld on the no-hitter. “He hit his spots and we made some really good plays on defense. He got ahead in the count and threw first pitch strikes. That is the key to success on the mound and he did a great job of that.”

Five of Hudson’s hitless innings came without the comfort of run support. The Mustangs broke out with a three-spot in the top of the sixth to break the scoreless tie late. Hudson led off the charge himself with the first of three singles, followed by knocks from Cutter Smith and Tyler Moseman.

Moseman’s single to left plated Hudson and gave the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage. After Cody Borgfeld put two in scoring position with another single later in the frame, Smith came home on a passed ball and Moseman followed on an RBI-groundout from Cade Miller.

Hudson allowed one more baserunner via a walk, his only free pass of the night, in the bottom of the seventh. The Rockets, however, did not put a runner in scoring position in the final two innings. Only one Robinson runner, who reached via error, touched second base all night.

The Mustangs dropped their second district matchup at MHS Monday to China Spring, who is a top-10 team in the state in class 4A. Despite the 5-1 decision, the game was neck-and-neck throughout and tied 1-1 entering the seventh inning.

“(China Spring) is such a good team and can hit from one-to-nine,” said Borgfeld. “They have plenty of depth and are just a well-rounded team that is tough to beat. I am just extremely proud of the guys, I don’t think anybody except us thought that we could beat them.

“I think we have maybe opened some eyes in our district and proven we are a force to be reckoned with.”

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Mustangs retaliated with a run of their own in the bottom of the second.

Hudson reached on an infield single with one out in the inning before stealing second base. This set up an RBI-single for Moseman on a sharp drive to right field to tie the game.

China Spring finally found an offensive rhythm off pitcher Cutter Smith in the top of the seventh inning. After three straight singles, they pounced on Smith’s one mistake of the night and drove it out of the park for a grand slam.

“We had a chance and, unfortunately, a guy got a pitch and hit it hard, that’s baseball,” said Borgfeld. “It is just part of the game and you have to learn from it.”

Despite the loss, Borgfeld is pleased with the way his young team opened play against the two toughest teams in the district.

“Our confidence should be way up there,” said Borgfeld. “Since the La Grange tournament, we have gone nowhere but up in our play. The key to our success right now has been our pitching and defense. When we haven’t won, usually the problem has been errors. If we can play good defense, we can be in any ballgame, I don’t care who it is against.”

Madisonville’s next district game is scheduled for Thursday in Connally. Hudson is slated to be back on the rubber.