Carter Martin’s pregame warmups were routine on April 15 as the Warrenton pitcher prepared for a conference matchup against Holt. 

However, his mindset going into the game was anything but casual. 

“My thought process was just that I was better than everybody else, and I was going to show it,” he said. 

Martin showed just that as he fired a five-inning no-hitter in an 11-0 mercy-ruled win. The performance was nothing short of dominant as the sophomore struck out 13 batters. 

“I was blown away,” Martin said when asked about recording the final out. “I kind of had an idea that it was going to happen, but it was a relief when they didn’t get a hit.” 

Though it was not his first no-hitter ever, the performance marked his first at the high school level—an achievement that impressed longtime head coach Eric Burle, who has coached only a few no-hitter games. 

“The thing is he is only a sophomore and he’s pitching like a junior or senior would with his composure,” Burle said. “He acts well above his age whenever he’s out there on the mound and that’s been a huge presence for us.” 

Martin’s fastball overwhelmed Holt’s lineup from start to finish. After the fourth inning, he knew something special was unfolding. 

“They couldn’t touch my fastball that game,” Martin said. “I was going to do whatever I needed to do on my part and let my offense take care of the business on that side.” 

A key part of Martin’s success was his battery mate, Austin Haas, who Martin credited for helping guide him through the game.

“I couldn’t have done it without him,” he said. “He always knows what to throw even when I do not, so he could take the whole part in that if he wants to.” 

“He had their batters guessing and off-balance all game, so between (Martin) and (Haas), they had a pretty good game plan,” Burle added. 

The very next day, the Warriors continued their dominant stretch, defeating Holt again, this time by a commanding 19-1 score.

As Martin noted, conference play is where the team excels, and Warrenton’s momentum has not slowed down since. The Warriors followed up with two more wins against Winfield, improving their GAC North record to 5-1. 

“With conference, we need as much juice as possible. Conference is what we focus on mainly in the season, so I feel like everybody just plays to the best of their ability,” Martin said.