VALDOSTA, Ga. - Junior righty Kasie Johnson faced the minimum in her first career no-hitter to give Valdosta State softball a 3-0 win, following a 6-5 extra inning victory in game one of Saturday's Gulf South Conference doubleheader at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
In the final inning of Johnson's sparkling effort in the circle, leadoff hitter Mallory Myers led off the seventh with a line drive to shallow center field. Center fielder Taylor Hartenbach refused to give in, however, and made an incredible diving catch to keep the no-hitter intact. Johnson capitalized on the opportunity, and proceeded to force back-to-back popups before she was mobbed by her teammates in a postgame celebration in the center of the diamond.
"I felt really good today," said Johnson after the first no-hitter tossed by a Blazer since
Caitlyn Calhoun no-hit Florida Southern on March 15, 2016. "Coach Macera has been telling us to pitch more to the plate, and that's the main thing I focused on. I tried to concentrate more on hitting the corners and working the plate instead of throwing to the batter, and that helped me to feel more comfortable today."
Delta State's only base runner in the game came in the top of the sixth, when Olivia Dick reached on an error. On the very next pitch, Dick took a shot at her seventh stolen base of the year, but Lacey Crandall cut her down with a perfect throw to second base. The putout marked Dick's first failed attempt at a stolen base this season and returned Johnson to the minimum.
Johnson, who got help from her defense throughout the afternoon after pounding the strike zone and pitching to contact throughout the game, produced a line that included three strikeouts and no walks. She induced 12 flyouts and five groundouts by the Lady Statesmen. With the help of an RBI double by Jessica Mohl and a two-run homer by Taylor Hartenbach in the bottom of the third, the 3-0 win lifted Johnson to 2-1 on the year and dropped her ERA to 1.17.
In game one of the twin bill, Blazer starter Kathryn Carter held the Lady Statesmen scoreless during the first four innings before Delta State took advantage of two Blazer errors with five hits for five unearned runs. The fifth inning barrage negated five runs scored by the Blazers earlier in the afternoon and resulted in an extra frame after two follow-up scoreless innings.
After Logan Hill turned a sharp double play at short to end a Delta State threat in the top of the eighth, the Blazers used the momentum for a leadoff single by Lacey Crandall in the bottom of the inning. Brandy Morgan followed with a walk to move Crandall into scoring position, and Daniell Patterson's sharp ground ball was misplayed at second base, which allowed Crandall to score the winning run from second.
The Blazers improved to 14-3 overall after the Saturday sweep, and the team lifted their conference record to 4-1. Meanwhile, the Lady Statesmen fell to 8-9 overall and saw their Gulf South Conference record fall to 2-3. Avery Lamb scored the win in game one to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season.
Valdosta State returns to the field on Sunday for the series finale, scheduled at 1:00 p.m. at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
