MONTGOMERY, Alab. -- Texas Lutheran junior right-hander
Maitlin Raycroft (Spring/Klein/Galveston College) tossed the 15th no-hitter in school history and set the new school mark for strikeouts in a game (18) in the Bulldogs' 10-0 win Sunday afternoon against Huntingdon College (Alab.).
Raycroft's pitching gem capped the Bulldogs' road doubleheader sweep of the Hawks (0-6). TLU won the first game 4-2 behind
Amanda Lochte's (Fredericksburg/Fredericksburg) complete game.
In the late game, Raycroft struck out the side in the first four innings and then struck out the side again in the seventh. After Huntingdon loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, with a walk and a pair of fielding errors, Raycroft struck out the final two Hawks swinging.
The 18 strikeouts by Raycroft are tied for the third-most in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference history.
Raycroft improved to 2-2 overall. She faced 27 total batters. The Bulldogs made three errors, and Raycroft walked four. The Hawks had two ground-outs against Raycroft. The other out came via a caught stealing.
After starting the season 0-4, TLU is now 4-4 overall. The Bulldogs went 4-2 on the road trip through the South. TLU fell twice to No. 6 Berry (Ga.) but then swept No. 18 Birmingham-Southern and took two from Huntingdon.
In the early game, the senior right-hander Lochte improved to 2-1 with seven strong innings of work. She struck out four and did not walk a batter.
The Bulldogs put Lochte ahead in the fifth with a
Kelsie McEachern (Atascocita/Huffman/UT Tyler) RBI single and a
Nicole Snow (Tomball/Klein Oak) sacrifice fly.
TLU added two runs in the seventh with a
Kaymee Gooden (Mart/Mart/McLennan College) RBI single and an
Alyssa Cantu (Baytown/Sterling) RBI single.
In game two, TLU put three runs on the board in the third and added two in the fifth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh.
McEachern and
Delani Sipila (Helotes/O'Connor) each drove in two runs.
Cassie Roche (Corpus Christi/Gregory-Portland) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Brayden Pinckard (Buda/Hays) and
Courtney Mica (Flatonia/Flatonia/McLennan College) each scored a pair of runs.
TLU is off until March 3 when the Bulldogs host Southwestern University for an SCAC doubleheader at Ed Kruse Stadium - Morck Softball Field.
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