Farmers Branch, Texas- Sophomore right-hander Amber Rollins tossed a no-hitter against Howard Payne University Friday in the American Southwest Conference First Pitch Tournament and the Lady Eagles won both games on day one.
In game one against Sul Ross State University (0-3), the Lady Eagles (4-2) scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth to secure a 3-2 win.
Against Howard Payne (3-3), Rollins tossed seven complete innings, tied a school-record with 12 strikeouts and issued just one walk to complete the no-hitter. Rollins becomes only the second player in program history to garner a no-hitter by herself. Kaci Foster accomplished the feat in 2010 against Blackburn College. Dana Marvin and Chanceree Catlett threw a combined no-hitter in 2004 and Foster and Stephany Henson teamed up for another combined no-hitter in 2010.
Rollins fanned five of the first six batters she faced and pitched six and two-third innings before allowing a walk. Howard Payne’s first batter to reach base occurred in the sixth inning, again with two outs, on an error.
The Lady Eagles gave Rollins a 2-0 lead to work with after the first inning and then added two more runs in the second. Heather Roberts drove in a pair of runs with a single down the leftfield line in the first and Ali Mathis recorded an RBI single and would later score a run in the second inning.
Victoria Lemieux went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Ozarks.
Against Sul Ross, Roberts singled to center field and then Shawnee Sorensen ripped another single up the middle to fuel the inning. A sacrifice bunt by Molly Bowman advanced both runners a base and in the process Sul Ross committed a throwing error to allow Roberts to score. Rollins then threw a hitless sixth and seventh inning to earn the save.
Sul Ross opened the first inning with a 1-0 lead, but Ozarks responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame to even the score. Ozarks would take a 2-1 lead in the second when Bowman scored on an illegal pitch. Sul Ross scored one run in the fifth on two hits to tie the game at 2-2.
Whitney Price (2-1) went four innings to receive the win. She struck out one.
Roberts paced Ozarks at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance.
Ozarks will face Schreiner University and Mary Hardin-Baylor tomorrow to wrap up its time in the ASC First Pitch Tournament.
Topics: Athletics