LAKEWOOD 1, KANNAPOLIS 0: Spencer Howard closed out the best-of-three South Atlantic League Northern Division Series with a no-hitter, completing a sweep of the Intimidators and sending the BlueClaws to their fifth league championship series.
Howard (W, 1-0), a second-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2017, struck out nine and allowed just a single walk as the righthander mowed through the Kannapolis lineup.
The Intimidators did load the bases in the third inning as a result of Howard's lone walk, a wild pitch, and two fielding errors. However, they did so with two outs already on the board, and the BlueClaws escaped the jam when Howard got Kannapolis' Steele Walker to line out to 1B Jake Scheiner in foul territory.