Photo: A happy Belmont High baseball team celebrates with pitchers Craig Deane and Kyle Ksander who combined for the Marauders first no-hitter since 2000.

As far back as November, Belmont High School’s long time baseball manager Jim Brown was talking highly – in his iconic dead pan manner – of the pitching staff he would be sending out to the mound in the spring.

“They’ve been prepping really well in the off-season. Yeah, four who I think are going to impress,” said “Brownie.”

It only took the first game of the campaign to prove Brown’s forecast right as a pair of those arms went out and put up a marker for the rest of the season as senior southpaws Craig Deane and Kyle Ksander combined to no hit Everett, 6-0, in the season opener on Friday, April 3.

Pitching under the lights, Ksander – a 6 foot, 175 lb. returning varsity lefty whose fast ball tops out at 85 mph – struck out eight in four innings while the multi-positional Deane K’d seven in his three innings of action to share Belmont’s first no-hitter in 26 years.

The season’s “home” opener was played at Watertown High School’s turf field due to the soggy conditions at Brendan Grant Field.

The no-hit shutout is a promising start for Belmont coming off a 9-11 ’25 campaign where it got pushed around against “mehe” opposition to miss the MIAA tourney.

After being on the road against Melrose (Monday) and Reading (Wednesday), Belmont will be at the Grant on Friday, April 10 vs Watertown. First pitch is at 4:15 p.m.