VANCOUVER – Pitcher
Nicole Day (3rd, Surrey, BC) made UBC Thunderbirds softball history by throwing the team's first-ever no-hitter in a 5-0 shutout of Hastings College (Nebraska) at the Tucson Invitational today.
Over seven innings, Day struck out seven batters and walked three, without giving up a hit.
“Coming off of two big wins yesterday, the team did a great job of keeping things rolling,” said Day. “My goal was to just keep the other team off balance and do my best to help us come out with a win. Everything just clicked and it was an all around great day for us at the park."
Jesslyn Hodge (4th, Vancouver, BC) drove a two-run home run over the left field fence to provide Day with some offensive support.
Hodge,
Brittany Meyer (3rd, Delta, BC) and
Cassandra Dypchey (2nd, Surrey, BC) all went 2-4 from the plate, while
Alana Westerhof (3rd, Delta, BC) was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Day's no-hitter came less than 24 hours after she threw a complete game against Graceland University, allowing just one hit, while striking out nine. Day didn't walk any batters in a 5-0 win.
UBC's second game on Tuesday saw the team rally back from an early 6-1 deficit to defeat Hastings 7-6.
Molly Gosnell (3rd, Sunnyvale, CA) led the comeback, going 2-3 and recording a run batted in, while scoring three more.
Westerhof was also intstrumental, as she drove in three runs on a 2-3 day at the plate.
She was also excellent on the mound, providing the T-Birds with excellent pitching in relief of
Leigh Della Siega (2nd, White Rock, BC). Westerhof threw 4 2/3 innings, surrendering just one hit, while striking out seven.
No comeback was needed in the final game of the day for UBC as the Thunderbirds crushed Augsburg College (Minnesota) by a score of 17-8.
The T-Birds got all the runs they needed in the top of the first inning, scoring ten times. Augsburg came back with a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning and then two more in the second to close the game to 10-5 but UBC outscored the Auggies 7-3 the rest of the way to clinch the team's fifth victory in a row, which have all come at the Tucson Invitational.
Senior Hodge was the team's leading offensive threat as she recorded a home run, four runs batted in and five runs scored on four hits in five at-bats.
The Thunderbirds will play three games again on Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona, opening with a 9 a.m. match-up against California State University-San Marcos.
UBC will play two games against St. Gregory's University (Oklahoma) to finish off the tournament.
The first game will be at 11 a.m. and the second will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Then the team will return to Vancouver to prepare for UBC's first home games of the year on March 30 at London Park in Richmond against the University of Great Falls (Montana).
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