Often times in baseball you find out who a player truly is when the lights get brighter and the stage gets bigger. Like the 2019 Canada Cup quarter-final in Regina, Saskatchewan.

If that holds true, the University of Michigan has a gamer coming to campus in the fall of 2020 after lefty Connor O’Halloran threw a 14-strikeout no-hitter against Manitoba in the National quarter-final.

It was as dominant as they come with the Mississauga native walking just one, hitting one with a pitch and securing the 3-0 victory for Ontario as they inched closer to another berth in the Canada Cup final.

“Right from the first pitch, throwing a first pitch strike to the first batter of the game helps to bring the confidence up right away and after that first batter in the first inning, I felt really good and it just continued throughout the whole game,” said O’Halloran, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder who also pitches for the Ontario Terriers and the Canadian JNT.

His fastball sat steady around 84-86 mph and he topped out at 88 mph. His ability to command multiple pitches helped him get ahead in counts before putting away the hitters, often times with his curveball.

Looking back on the start, O’Halloran says the curveball seemed to be the difference maker as he was not only able to get ahead with it on the first pitch, he could also get them to swing through it late in counts as well. 

“The curveball was definitely the pitch I was using that game. I was using it not only to strike guys out but I was also using it to get ahead because guys usually aren’t looking for a first-pitch curveball,” explained O’Halloran. “Since I had feel for it, I could throw it for a strike, I could throw it down to get them to swing and miss so I was using that pitch especially to get the ball rolling on hitters.”

2020 @umichbaseball commit Connor O’Halloran putting on a clinic today.

Thru 6 innings, O’Hal has 12 punch outs and zeros across the board.

FB up to 88 and all 3 pitches are a weapon today. @BaseballOntario leads 3-0 as we head to the 7th #CanadaCup19 ?? pic.twitter.com/siaL0yyiFN

— PBR Ontario (@PBR_Ontario) August 11, 2019

It was the first no-hitter in his career and after his bullpen that morning, that was the furthest thing the two-time Canada Cup medalist had in his mind. He said his arm was feeling good in the bullpen but stuff wise it just wasn’t there, which reminded him of when Kerry Wood threw a 20-strikeout one-hitter for the Cubs after throwing a bullpen in which he said, “I’d gone 50 pitches in the bullpen and didn’t throw one strike.”

That all changed for both of them of course once they stepped between the white lines. 

“It honestly wasn’t until about the 6^th inning, I went back out and there and looked at the scoreboard and I couldn’t really remember anyone getting a hit off me so it clicked right there. I almost had to calm down in the dugout a little bit because I was starting to realize it but I couldn’t be focused on not just giving up a hit but continue to throw strikes because it was close.”

It was a nearly perfect start to the day Ontario which concluded in a tough 3-2 loss to Nova Scotia in the National Championship. On a pitching staff loaded with talent as well as three other DI  commits, O’Halloran stood out and will be back on the mound again next week in Australia for the Canadian JNT selection camp.

While we slowly begin to prepare and look ahead to the 2020 MLB Draft, O’Halloran continues to raise his stock as he shows well against the top competition. He looks forward to what will come over the next year but just wants to stay in the moment and enjoy his time with this core group of guys from Ontario.

“I still have so much fun playing with my friends. All these guys from the National Team, Team Ontario and the Terriers, they’re all great guys and I just love playing baseball with them. It’s always cool to be able to play on a national stage.”