Apopka (3-4) baseball continued its recent surge Monday night, riding combined no-hitter and aggressive base running to a 5-0 shutout victory over Tavares (1-5) at home. 

Easton DeClue set the tone by throwing three hitless innings with four strikeouts, keeping Tavares off balance. Logan Page followed with four shutout innings of relief, retiring batter after batter to complete a combined no-hitter for the Blue Darters. 

Apopka broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning using speed and pressure on the bases. Nico Posluszny worked a walk and quickly stole both second and third. After Ty Livingston reached base, a balk by the Tavares pitcher allowed Posluszny to score from third, giving Apopka a 1-0 lead. 

The Blue Darters gave their pitchers some breathing room in the fourth. Camron Pennock reached on a dropped fly ball in right field and immediately stole second. After Tyler Spaid drew a walk, Pennock swiped third as the pitcher attempted a pickoff. A wild pitch brought Pennock home, and another one allowed Spaid to score, pushing the lead to 3-0.  

Page was nearly perfect in the top of the fifth, retiring Tavares in order, and the Apopka offense added two more insurance runs in the bottom half. Posluszny ripped a single past second base, and Livingston brought him home with a triple into the right-center gap. Livingston later scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0. 

Jez Hamrick added a line-drive single later in the inning and stole second, while Spaid picked up another hit to help advance the runners. Page closed out the sixth with another three-up, three-down frame. 

In the seventh, Tavares managed to draw two walks, but the Blue Darters’ defense and pitching sealed the shutout and preserved the no-hitter. 

Five Apopka players recorded hits in the win, highlighted by Livingston’s RBI triple. Posluszny finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored and was a constant presence on the bases. 

Head coach Scott Garland credited the team’s attention to detail as the driving force behind its three-game streak. 

“To be quite honest with you, we’re just doing the little things right.” Garland said. “We got our pitching staff to throw the ball over the plate, and that’s the recipe right there. If you get your pitchers throwing strikes, then you’re in business.” 

Apopka hosts Mount Dora Christian Academy at 6 p.m. Tuesday in hopes of keeping the streak alive and climbing back to .500 on the season.