ABILENE – Redshirt sophomore
Hannah Null Saturday pitched the second no-hitter of her young career behind a season-high 12 strikeouts vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Abilene Christian's home opener at Poly Wells Field.
Null and the Wildcats beat the Lions 9-0 in 5.0 innings to win game one today's doubleheader, and in game two, freshman
Allison Turner allowed just three hits in an 8-0 victory that lasted 6.0 innings.
The victories lifted ACU's season record to 5-11, while Pine Bluff fell to 5-12.
A native of Highland Village, Texas, Null this afternoon struck out the side in the second, third and fourth innings and had two punch outs in the first following a ground ball to first base. She hit her first batter of the game to begin the second inning and plunked two more in the fifth, but left them stranded by getting a called strike three on Kayla Reap.
Ten of Null's 12 strikeouts were swinging as she recorded the fifth 10-plus strikeout game of her career and posted her highest single-game total since setting the school's record with 17 vs. Hardin-Simmons on March 25, 2014.
"Hannah just pitched her game today," said head coach
Bobby Reeves. "She had her change-up working, busted them in on the hands and they really couldn't handle anything she threw their way. Her stuff was overwhelming. She did good."
Null's previous no-hitter took place in Lubbock, Texas, vs. Rhode Island a little over two years ago on Feb. 28, 2014. The Wildcats won that game in run-rule fashion as well, 9-1, in 5.0 innings. It was ACU's first no-hitter since Rebecca Eldridge threw one against Cameron on March 28, 2000.
Null is only the fourth pitcher in ACU softball history to throw a no-hitter, but only the second to have done it twice. Shelly Owen tossed four no-hitters between 1997 and 1998, Amanda Cobb had one in 1999 and Eldridge pitched hers in 2000.
Both Wildcat wins today were abbreviated due to the run-rule that's employed in collegiate softball. Senior
Cara Hoover ended matters in game one with a one-out, two-run double. Sophomore shortstop
Peyton Hedrick slammed a solo shot over the wall in dead center field to cap game two.
After facing three weeks worth of top-notch pitching on the tournament circuit, the Wildcats had little to no trouble at all making contact vs. Lion pitching and finished the twin bill with a .413 team batting average. Six players had multi-hit games and three hit .500, including sophomore outfielder
Brianna Barnhill who had a line-drive grand slam in the first inning of game one.
Barnhill also scored four of the team's 17 runs, while Hedrick and sophomore third baseman
Holly Neese each came home three times.
"Our offense needed exactly this kind of day," said Reeves. "They needed get that shot of confidence and return to feeling good about themselves. Barnhill smoked a line-drive grand slam that barely cleared the fence and then Peyton's home run went so far over the monster that I thought it was going to hit the traffic light (at Ambler)."
Barnhill's and Hedrick's home runs were their third of the season.
Taylor Brown also had a stolen base as part of a 3-for-6 performance, which was her fifth of the spring.
Following Barnhill's grand slam, the Wildcats made it a 5-0 game in the fourth inning thanks to three Lion errors around the infield. ACU promptly ended the game in the fifth with back-to-back two-run doubles by junior
Casey-May Huff and Hoover.
Turner struck out three and didn't allow a base runner past second in her game two victory and received all her offense between the fourth and sixth innings. Junior
Alli Spivey tripled in a pair of runs during a five-run fourth inning, and in the fifth, the Wildcats got consecutive RBI singles off the bats of
Baylee Travers and
Kaleigh Singleton.
The bottom third of ACU's order (Travers, Singleton and Spivey) in game two was a combined 6-of-9 with five RBI. No. 6 hitter
Alyson Bishoff also had a run-scoring single in the fourth as part of a 1-for-3 afternoon.
The Wildcats and Lions conclude their series Sunday at 12 p.m. The game will be live streamed on ACUSports.com with
Grant Boone handling the play-by-play.
