ELON, N.C. – Two no-hitters from pitchers #Erin O’Shea and Lauren Taylor# led the Elon University softball team to a pair of wins over North Carolina Central today, April 7, at East Field. Every Phoenix player that went to the plate in the two games earned a hit as Elon took an 8-0 win over the Lady Eagles in game one and a dominating 20-0 victory in game two. Elon improves to 17-14 on the season, while NCCU falls to 4-26.
O’Shea and Taylor combined for 11 innings of no-hit softball in the two games while also striking out 22 NCCU batters. Emerald Graham went 4-for-6 on the day at the plate, hitting two home runs and recording six RBI.
Game 1
In the bottom of the first, Graham sent the first offering from NCCU pitcher Kayla McPeek to left field for a two-run homer, her seventh on the year, to give Elon an early 2-0 lead.
#Caitlin McGowan and Kaitlyn Piazzolla# each reached base on singles in the second to put runners on first and second. A sacrifice bunt by Danielle Lafferty moved them both into scoring position, while a single by Lauren Oldham and a groundout by Carleigh Nester pushed across the two runs, increasing the Elon lead to 4-0.
Tomeka Watson started the third inning with a leadoff double and came around to score, making it 5-0, following a pair of sacrifices by Graham and Pam DelPizzo to add another run to the board.
Elon added two more runs in the fourth to make it 7-0. An RBI single by Morgan Wright and a sacrifice fly by Watson brought home Piazzolla and Oldham who both reached base on singles earlier in the inning.
The Phoenix got its final run in the sixth, which ended the game at 8-0. Elon loaded the bases with one out before DelPizzo sent a fly ball to center to bring home the final run.
O’Shea (7-6) hurled a no-hitter for the Phoenix striking out 15 of the 19 hitters she faced, including a streak of eight straight. The junior was one over the minimum batters faced for the game. Her only blemish was a walk that she surrendered in the fourth inning.
Game 2
Graham got the Phoenix on the board early again in the second game hammering a three-run homer on the first-pitch over the fence in left, her second round tripper of the day and eighth on the season. Following the home run, Elon strung together four hits to bring home three more runs in the first inning making it a 6-0 lead.
Elon batted through the lineup for the second consecutive inning sending 13 batters to the plate in the second with nine runs on nine hits making it a 15-0 Phoenix lead.
The Phoenix kept things going in the third and added four more runs to its lead on four hits. The inning was highlighted by a two-run homer off the bat of Johanna Spencer, her first of the year, making it 19-0.
Elon added one more run in the fourth to extend the lead to 20-0. The last time Elon scored 20 runs in a game was February 9, 2008, against Savannah State when the Phoenix won 26-0.
Taylor (9-6) went five innings of no-hit softball while striking out seven. The senior faced two over the minimum batters faced for the game.
Graham (3-for-3, four RBI), DePizzo (3-for-3), Lafferty (3-for-4), Oldham (2-for-2, four RBI) highlighted the offensive attack for the Phoenix.
The Phoenix continues Southern Conference action at East Field on Saturday, April 9, with a three game series against Georgia Southern. The series begins with a 1 p.m. double header on Saturday with the finale scheduled for 1 p.m. start on Sunday, April 10.
-- ELON –
