The last time a team opened its season with a no-hitter, it went on to win the national championship (that was Oregon State in 2007). Maybe Kansas won’t follow that same path, but the Jayhawks opened 2009 in pretty spectacular fashion.

Kansas junior lefthander Shaeffer Hall tossed the fifth no-hitter in school history in a 5-0 win against Air Force yesterday. Hall allowed three walks while striking out seven. After walking the first batter of the game, he retired 17 straight hitters before issuing a walk in the sixth. Hall is the first Jayhawk to throw a complete-game no-hitter since David Hicks in 1980.

"He was really special today," Kansas coach Ritch Price said. "For him to go out there and no-hit a team on just 104 pitches is an outstanding accomplishment. It’s one of the best performances by a pitcher that I’ve seen in my 30 years of coaching . . . He had good command of all three of his pitches, and that’s something he’s really worked on this offseason."