It was a week of No-Hitters in D3 Softball. We take a look at who got in on the flurry of No-No's.
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Raycroft Tosses 7th No-Hitter of Season
In last Friday's second game of a Texas Lutheran doubleheader with University of Dallas, TLU ace Maitlin Raycroft tossed her seventh no-hitter of the 2017 season in the Bulldogs 8-0, six inning win over the Crusaders.
TLU swept Dallas on the weekend, and with the wins the Bulldogs moved their overall win streak to 30 games and improved to 30-4 overall. TLU, the three-time defending conference champion, is now 18-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Story: #TLUBulldogs SB takes win streak to 30 games with pair of victories v Dallas. #SCACsb #D3sb https://t.co/WHD8yZxvpj
— TLU Bulldogs (@tluathletics) April 8, 2017
Raycroft, a junior right-hander, struck out 10 and allowed only one batter to reach base. Dallas' Avery Finch reached on a Bulldog fielding error in the fourth inning. Raycroft faced just one over the minimum. The no-no added to her NCAA Division III national record for no-hitters in a season. She registered the 21st no-hitter in school history.
Raycroft moved within two no-hitters of tying the all-time collegiate record for no-hitters in a season. That record is held by Michele Granger of California, who tossed nine no-hitters in 1993.
Speaking with Bulldog head coach Wade Wilson after Raycroft notched her 6th no-hitter, Wilson commented, "We knew that Maitlin was talented and felt like she would be successful. She is a talented player but to have 6 No-Hitters, takes a little skill and a little luck."
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Fortuna Fires No-No – SUNY-Purchase gets first win
Last Wednesday's matchup with Mount St. Vincent and SUNY-Purchase was moved to Randall's Island Park in Manhattan.
The Panthers made sure to capitalize and with ace Nicole Fortuna in the circle, they didn't need many.
Fortuna No-No; Capone-Froio Gets Game Winner https://t.co/cVVpZNnCTs
— Purchase Athletics (@PC_Panthers) April 6, 2017
Fortuna pitched her second career no-hitter for the Panthers, going the distance in a sparkling 1-0 victory, the first win of the season for Purchase. Fortuna, who improved to 1-1 on the spring, went eight innings. She struck out five and only walked one on a near perfect day.
Although the Panthers would drop game two, 9-2, Purchase got the better of game one in a matchup of ace starters. Purchase went on to beat Rachel Heizer, handing CMSV's starter, her first loss of the season.
In extras, Panther newcomer Victoria Capone-Froio singled to center field in the eighth, bringing home Antonina Fiore with the running run.
The hosts kept the momentum going in game two, racing out to a 2-2 lead, but CMSV answered back with two runs in the third and then added to their lead in the fifth. The Dolphins would go on to score seven runs from the fifth inning on.
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Texas-Tyler Sweeps Ozarks; Romero Fires 1st Collegiate No-Hitter
Texas-Tyler freshman Whitney Romero pitched the first no-hitter of her collegiate career in Game One and the UT Tyler softball team cruised to another shutout in Game Two as they swept a doubleheader against Ozarks.
RECAP: @Patriot_sb extends #WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWstreak with sweep of Ozarks https://t.co/HDP4w4p7R2
— UT Tyler Patriots (@uttylerpatriots) April 8, 2017
Romero’s no-hitter came in a 9-0 UT Tyler victory while the Patriots took the second game 8-0. Romero struck out eight batters and walked just one to improve to 11-1 this season, while Alaina Kissinger picked up her 17th victory without a loss in the nightcap.
With the wins, UT Tyler completed a three-game sweep of the Eagles after taking the opening game on Friday. The Patriots have now outscored the last eight opponents 50-0, and with the weekend victories extended their winning streak to 15 games.
UT Tyler improved to 31-2 overall and 22-2 in the American Southwest Conference.
