MONTREAL – Brad Marelich of Pasadena, Calif., had three hits and a trio of McGill pitchers combined for a no-hitter in a lopsided 13-1 victory over the Université de Montréal baseball club at Parc Claude-Robillard, Wednesday.
 
Senior Caden Welch, a southpaw starter from Langley, B.C., was relieved after throwing 61 pitches over three innings of work. He registered the victory with assistance from relievers Agastya Kushari and Donovan Worrall, who each tossed a hitless inning before the mercy rule was applied after McGill added five runs in the fifth inning. It was the fifth no-hitter in team history (previous ones listed below). 

Welch allowed one run and struck out five but served up four walks and hit one batter. Kushari, a sophomore from Toronto, threw 16 pitches and was perfect in his one inning of relief, striking out the side. Worrall, a senior from South Africa, pitched the final inning. He threw a dozen pitches  and retired all three batters faced.

After dropping a 6-5 shocker to Montreal in their first rendezvous back on Sept. 4, McGill has rebounded to win the next two confrontations 13-3 and 13-1.
 
The Redbirds had eight hitters combine for 11 hits. They scored three runs in the first inning, four in the second and added another in the third to jump into an 8-0 lead. The Carabins snapped the shutout bid in the bottom of the third when they loaded the bases after  Thierri Douville was hit by a pitch, followed by walks issued to Adam Gilbert and Benjamin Cloutier. The run scored when pitcher Liam Dawes-Forster grounded into a fielder's choice for the put out at second base.
 
Marelich, a 21-year-old economics senior, collected three hits, had three runs batted in and scored three times. He was 3-for-4 at the plate, highlighted by a two-run triple in the fifth inning. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound shortstop also had a pair of stolen bases.
 
The only other McGillian to produce a multi-hit game was second baseman Brandon Kim, an industrial relations senior from Vienna, Virginia, who went 2-for-3 from the ninth spot in the batting order. He scored once and added a pair of RBIs.

Dawes-Forster pitched a complete game in a losing cause for the carabins. In his five innings of work, he conceded 13 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits. He threw 107 pitches, walked two, hit one batter and struck out five.

McGill's last no-hitter occurred on Oct. 14, 2023 when four pitchers combined for a 4-0 conquest over Concordia in the second game of a doubleheader to sweep a Quebec university baseball semifinal series 2-0. Redbirds starter Marcus Dela Cruz threw four innings and collected the victory., assisted by relievers Caden Welch (1.1 innings), Donovan Worrall (0.2) and Justin Zabudsky (1). 

That was preceded by a "no-no" on Oct. 13, 2018, when Rocky Hroch registered an 11-0 playoff win over Carleton, which was shortened to five innings because of the mercy rule. It was the second no-hitter for Hroch, who previously accomplished the feat in a 13-1 victory over the Université de Montréal, also a five-inning affair on Sept. 23, 2016.

McGill's first-ever no-hitter took place on Oct. 23, 2006 when sophomore Michael Tomasetta pitched a rain-shortened six-inning gem as McGill hammered Dalhousie 8-0 to capture the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association championship in Nepean, Ont.

U de M, which dropped to 1-3 in league play, will resume its schedule at Concordia (1-2) on Sept. 19.

Next on tap for McGill (4-1) will be a key doubleheader in Trois-Rivières, Que., against UQTR, the defending league champions who went undefeated last season. The opener is slated for 12 noon at Stade Quillorama, followed by the nightcap at 3 p.m. The Patriotes, who had a doubleheader rained out against McGill last week, will play their campaign opener at Concordia on Sept. 15.

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SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca