WHEATON, Ill. - Sophomore right-hander Amanda Osterhus (Munster, Ind.) pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts, one walk and a hit batsman as the Carroll University softball team defeated Wheaton College 11-0 in the opening game of a cool, breezy College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin doubleheader at Ruth Leedy Field on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the first collegiate no-hit performance for Osterhus, who put an exclamation point on the dominant victory by striking out the final three hitters to end the game.
Osterhus, who improved to 7-4 overall, faced 17 hitters in the contest.
It was the third consecutive conference victory and fifth shutout of the season for Carroll, which improved to 3-0 in the conference standings and 13-8 overall.
The game was limited to five innings as the 10-run mercy rule was enforced.
Carroll, which has won four of its last five, scored six runs on six hits and took advantage of three errors in the momentum-building top of the second inning.
Junior second baseman Maggie Erdman (Jefferson, Wis.) ignited the early-inning scoring surge with a bases-loaded run-scoring single to right field for the Pioneers, who pounded out nine hits. Junior catcher Veronica Rodriguez (South Bend, Ind.) scored as the result of a wild pitch to extend the lead to 2-0.
Junior right fielder Annika Graves (Muskego, Wis.) followed with a two-run single to center field and later scored on a fielding error. Freshman shortstop Jordan Wermund (Stevensville, Mich.) also scored on a fielding error to round out the key spree.
The Pioneers added five runs in the third.
Carroll collected the next run on an RBI fielder's choice by Wermund and Erdman scored on an error to increase the lead to 8-0. Sophomore designated hitter Ashley McNamara (Batavia, Ill.) contributed an RBI sacrifice fly and sophomore left fielder Rosalie Jrolf (Dousman, Wis.) had a two-run double to center field.
Graves went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for Carroll, which didn't commit an error. Jrolf added two hits and drove in two runs for the Pioneers.