May 18, 2021- Middletown North’s baseball program had a magical day at Rich Veth Field versus their crosstown rival Middletown High School South.  In a tight A-North Division race, Lions senior pitcher Colin Dowlen led his team to an impressive 3-0 victory over the Eagles.

This win itself would make for a great day for a determined Lions team, but Dowlen added to the magic with pitching a complete game, 15 strikeout, no-hitter.  This is the second time this century that the Lions have pitched a no-hitter against the Eagles.  The last time was during the 2007 season in which Kevin Engelbrecht and Mike Collison combined for the feat during a 7-0 victory during the Walter Woods-Rich Veth Game at First Energy Park in Lakewood, NJ.

Dowlen was locked in all game and even had a perfect game going into the seventh inning before he issued a 3-2 walk.  Dowlen was so focused that he did not even realize what he was on the verge of accomplishing until the last inning. It was not until the last inning that Colin Dowlen began thinking that he might have a chance to do something special.” I realized what the situation was probably round the seventh inning,” Dowlen said. “It was nice to have some run support and I just went out there trying to throw strikes.”

When the top of the seventh approached, Dowlen took the hill with a 3-0 lead and a home crowd cheering him on to keep the perfect game in tact.  Dowlen’s bid for perfection ended quickly when he issued a lead off walk to give the Eagles their first base runner of the game.

After second year Lions Coach Ryan McCabe had a quick mound visit, Dowlen would then strike out two batters and retire the last to complete the historical moment. The win placed the Lions(10-3) in a comfortable position in the division as Middletown South fell to (11-5) on the season.  The Lions enjoyment of this victory will not last long, as they head over to Middletown South to take on the Eagles again today at Walter Woods Field. Tuesday’s game was the first of three-straight games between the two Middletown high schools.

The third game will take place on Saturday with playoff complications.  The fourth-seeded Middletown North Lions will host the fifth-seeded Middletown South in the quarterfinals of the Shore Conference Tournament. 

The Lions are currently eighth in Central Jersey, Group 3 bracket and Middletown North will look to make some noise in the NJSIAA State Playoff Tournament.  The Lions will ride the strong pitching of their two aces Colin Dowlen, Danny Frontera and the remainder of the bullpen.  Coach McCabe has a ton of faith in all of his pitchers, but realizes that Dowlen did something special versus the Eagles.

“We have a lot of trust in a lot of guys,” McCabe said. “Every guy who’s pitched has pitched incredibly well for us. We can say it’s your turn, you go out there. Today, it was Colin’s turn. Tomorrow, it’s the next guy’s turn and we’re just trying to take it from there. It’s a process.”

The Lions will look too use the momentum of Tuesday’s game to build on a strong final push heading into the last month of the season.  Great Job Colin and congratulations on your historic performance.

* All Photos via Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Media

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