Baseball: Jack Flaherty throws no-hitter for Harvard-Westlake

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Junior right-hander Jack Flaherty was near perfect for Harvard-Westlake on Saturday, throwing a no-hitter while striking out seven and walking one in the Wolverines’ 1-0 victory over Valencia in a semifinal game of the Easton tournament.

Arden Pabst had three hits and drove in the game’s only run for Harvard-Westlake (4-0).

It was a tough day mentally for Flaherty, who went to services in the morning for Justin Carr, a Harvard-Westlake swimmer who died a week ago. In the first inning, he said he was still thinking about Carr, then began to focus as the game progressed.

Flaherty, who is committed to North Carolina and is expected to be one of Southern California’s top pro prospects in 2014, made a diving play on a push bunt in the seventh to preserve his no-hitter.

Harvard-Westlake will face Mission League rival Chaminade in Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. championship game at Birmingham. Chaminade defeated Saugus, 12-6. Matt Willmore had three RBIs and Myles Hager had two hits.

-- Eric Sondheimer