Throwing a no-hitter remains a high honor for a high school pitcher. For Hannah Bergh, it’s just another day at the office.

Bergh delivered her final pitch to Natalie DenHartog, who flied a ball directly above Bergh's head. 

“I usually try not to get in the way of those pop ups in the infield, but it felt right to me,” Bergh said. “I put my glove up, and thankfully caught it.”

Bergh’s final catch shut the door on a 1-0 victory over No. 2-seeded Hopkins in a Section 6, Class 3A winner's bracket game at Pamela Park in Edina on Friday night.

“It was a little tense last inning, but I took some deep breaths, and my catcher reassured me that I was gonna be fine and just hit my spots and focus on those things,” Bergh said.

“It’s nice when she throws like that and we know we’ve got a strong defense behind her when the ball does get hit,” Orono coach Mike Carter said about Bergh’s seventh no-hitter of the season.

Bergh's afternoon wasn't flawless. She beaned Erin O'Neal with her second pitch of the game. Hannah Kleist followed and hit a payoff 3-2 pitch to centerfield, where Madison Arends caught the ball and zipped a throw to first turning the double play and bail Bergh out of trouble.

“The defense was behind me, and I could really tell they wanted it,” Bergh said. “They were there for me when I made those errors.”

Orono’s energy radiated to a lively infield that tackled any choppers, ground balls or line drives the defense faced.

“It’s not hard to get this group excited,” Carter said. “They’re good friends -- good teammates -- and they come ready to play every time.”

Both teams hadn’t allowed a single run through the first two rounds of play in the section tournament. In a meeting of two stingy defenses, the game was bound to be decided by a solo run.  

Rebekah Smith and Shelby Early supplied two of the Spartans' three hits. Smith singled, and Early followed by smashing a double to centerfield past the outfielder and sending Smith home for the lone score.

“We try to start strong so it carries through, and try to be up the whole time.” Bergh said about the team’s first-inning performance.

The final six innings proved to be a defensive standoff, with each team going down 1-2-3 on multiple occasions.

“She pitched a great game,” Carter said about Bergh. “She had good command -- especially of the low-and-in corner -- when she hit that, that was a ball that was not going to get hit today.”

Orono, now in the championship round, will have to lose twice to be eliminated from earning a third consecutive trip to state. 

“We never count our chickens before they’re hatched, but it’s nice to have that [advantage] going into Tuesday,” Carter said.

Orono senior Hannah Bergh pitched a no-hitter as the top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Spartans beat No. 2-seeded Hopkins1-0 a winner's bracket game in the Section 6, Class 3A playoffs at Pamela Field in Edina on Friday evening.

Shelby Early cranked a double to centerfield, bringing Rebekah Smith home from first base to give Orono (17-3) its only run.

The Spartans' Madison Arends provided a key defensive play in the top of the first inning. Hopkins’ Hannah Kleist belted a pitch to centerfield, where Arends caught the ball and turned the double play, throwing to first base before Erin O’Neal could get back.

Bergh struck out four batters and allowed only two runners. She caught the final out off an infield fly from Josie Ries.

Orono, undefeated in the section tournament, advances to the championship round on Tuesday at Pamela Park. Hopkins (13-8) drops into the loser's bracket, where it will play Edina on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Pamela Park.

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