JOHNSON CITY — Just one game after tossing a no-hitter, Morristown West nearly had the favor returned to it in Wednesday’s 7-0 loss to Science Hill in the District 1-4A Tournament.

It wasn’t until the top of the seventh inning with two outs until Urijah Marsingill ended the Hilltoppers’ no-hit bid with a single.

However, the Trojans had plenty of baserunners. The Trojans drew six walks and were hit twice by starter Levi Torbett, but a lack of hits and a flurry of mistakes on the bases kept the Trojans from making him pay.

Despite a poor offensive outing, West starter Andy Fowler did his best to keep the Trojans in striking distance, throwing 4.2 innings and striking out four.

“We had some opportunities earlier,” head coach Justin Pickett said. “And if we get a couple of hits, two-out hits here and there, you know, maybe we’re able to get something going. I thought Andy really did a really good job to keep them guessing and keep them off balance at the plate. And really, the four runs he gave up, I don’t know how many were earned, if any, but I thought the pitchers did good. You know, we had some mistakes out in the field. But right now it’s tournament time. We’re looking forward to West Ridge tomorrow. We’ve got to come out here ready to play. Got to make some adjustments at the box. We’re trying to do a little too much. It’s tournament time. So tomorrow we’ve got to come out here and make some adjustments, take care of business. And if we can do that, we’ll be all right. If we don’t, it will be the same thing, you know, as we saw tonight. But I think we’ll be ready to go.”

The Trojans drew a pair of walks in the first but stranded Levi Blair at third. After Fowler kept the Science Hill offense at bay, the Trojans again got two free bases and stranded two runners in scoring position.

West drew two early walks in the top of the third, but both runners were picked off at first base by both the pitcher and the catcher.

The ‘Toppers struck first in the third when a leadoff bunt and a walk got runners on first and third, with Carter McKinney scoring on a wild pitch.

Another baserunning error ended another potential offensive breakthrough with runners on first and second. The Trojans successfully stole third, but Connor Rouse was caught stealing second to end the inning.

Science Hill followed by loading the bases in the bottom of the fourth. McKinney scored one on a single and an error helped the remaining two runners reach home to clear the bases for a 4-0 Science Hill lead.

After Marsingill was hit by a pitch to open the fifth, the Trojans did not have another base runner until he singled to break the nohitter in the seventh as Science Hill pulled away in the bottom of the fifth.

‘Toppers’ Owen Lewis ripped a ball to right-center with two on, two out. Marsingill attempted to end the inning with a diving catch, but he missed it, and Lewis rounded all the way to home for a threerun, inside-the-park home run.

The only suspense remaining in the game was whether or not Science Hill would hold on to the nohit bid. Reliever Luke Edwards retired his first five batters to keep it alive until Marsingill’s two-out single dropped into shallow right field.

The Trojans faced off with West Ridge on Thursday for a chance to keep its run in the district tournament alive. If they beat the Wolves, they will face the loser of Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett on Friday at 6 p.m.

“We’re looking to come out here to win tomorrow, and then get a chance to play in that Friday elimination game,” Pickett said. “We’re gonna have all hands on deck, and we’re gonna go out there and compete and find a way to try to get it done. And you know, if we can get the two-out hits and get stuff going early, run the bases a little bit better, you know, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.”