Smoke from hamburgers and hot dogs grilling near the concession stand began to drift over the baseball field at Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep on Friday night (April 12).

The smell captivated the senses, but not as much as if you were visiting Scottsdale Desert Mountain and you just picked the host team clean with a 6-0 victory. And with a near no-hitter at that.

It was the closest thing one could get to a state championship game. Desert Mountain was the No. 1 team in the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Division I power seedings and Notre Dame was No. 1 in Division II. The teams had played four times entering the game, each winning twice.

Desert Mountain raised its record to 23-3, and Notre Dame dropped to 21-5.

“All these kids know each other. They grew up together. They are good friends. This is what high school baseball is all about,’’ said Desert Mountain first-year coach Brian Stephenson.

“And it was a lot of fun.’’

Why not? The Wolves got a big pitching performance from senior right-hander Cody Erickson.

Erickson had a no-hitter through five innings and surrendered just two hits in 6 2/3 innings before Calvin Boyd came on to record the final out of the game with a strikeout.

Erickson struck out seven, walked two and hit two batters.

“He’s a big-game pitcher, and we’ve still got some big games ahead,’’ Stephenson said.

Notre Dame also has a highly regarded pitcher in senior Austin Schnabel.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander struggled in the early going, giving up a two runs on three hits in the first inning, but seemed to settle down and get stronger after that.

Desert Mountain scored another run in the fourth, then all but put the game out of reach in the fifth when Jake McAdams clubbed a three-run home run just to the right of the batter’s eye in center field.

“Jake’s been one of our clutch hitters all year,’’ Stephenson said.

He is thankful his team doesn’t have to face Notre Dame any more this season.

“They are a good team and we wish them the best,’’ he said.