BRADENTON, Fla. — It all came down to Riley Cooper.

After six major league pitchers, it was Cooper, the 2023 13th-round pick who hasn’t pitched above the Low-A Delmarva level.

But Cooper did it — with a little help from his second baseman, Liván Soto, who barehanded a deflected grounder and threw out the first batter of the ninth inning.

Between Cooper and six other pitchers, the Orioles completed a combined no-hitter in Saturday’s spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It began with three innings from Zach Eflin. It continued with clean innings from Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano, Cionel Pérez, Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras. And then Cooper struck out the final two batters he faced to seal the feat.

The seven-pitcher no-hitter is the first combined no-hitter in a spring training game since 2023. It’s the first on record for the Orioles, according to MLB.com.

“I can’t remember another one,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I think it was a great experience for a lot of the guys out on the field. Everyone was aware of what was going on, and to be a part of something that’s a little more than a game, I think that’s a good experience for all of these guys.”

Hyde let pitching coach Drew French choose whichever minor league pitcher brought along for the ride he wanted to pitch the final inning of the 4-0 win.

“He went with the kid from LSU,” Hyde said.

That kid from LSU had great numbers last season, his first in professional ball. For Delmarva, Cooper recorded a 3.07 ERA in 88 innings with 84 strikeouts. He’d pitched twice this spring before Saturday as a late-inning extra.

Cooper, it turns out, had no idea of the situation as he warmed up to take the ninth. Then a fan yelled to him as he left the bullpen.

“Keep the no-hitter.”

“I was like, ‘Oh, let’s get it,’” Cooper said.

For a pitcher who dominated in relief for LSU during the 2023 College World Series, the moment doesn’t tend to rattle him. But, as the crowd at LECOM Park raised its noise level, “I got a little nervous halfway through. Crowd started getting a little crazy,” he said, “but it was fun.”

For the Pirates, former LSU star and Cooper’s former teammate Paul Skenes started the game. He was gone from the field long before Cooper took the mound to close out the no-hitter, but Cooper won’t let his friend get by without hearing something about it.

”I’ll definitely give him a text after this,” Cooper said, laughing.

This story has been updated.