Freshmen pitchers toss back-to-back no-hitters in Friday sweep
The LSU Eunice softball team saw a pair of freshmen pitchers throw back-to-back no-hitters in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Jeff Davis Community College on Friday afternoon, winning game one 8-0 before taking game two by a 9-0 score.
Pitchers Destin Vicknair and Raven Cole each allowed one Jeff Davis runner to reach base, reaching on an error against Vicknair in game one before Cole hit a batter in game two.
Friday's no-hitters come two days following Cole's no-hitter over Alvin Community College in the second game of the Lady Bengal sweep. Cole allowed five base runners (four walks, one hit batter) in Wednesday's win.
"I can't say enough about those two. They have done nothing but attack the zone and work hard all season. It really makes for a bright future for the program with those two in the circle this year and next year. They feed off each other, so it's a great combination," head coach Andy Lee said.
"It's something special. No-hitters aren't thrown every day, and when you throw three consecutive no-hitters that is pretty amazing."
Overall, the No. 1-ranked Lady Bengals (9-0) collected 22 hits but would need far less after the efforts given by the freshmen in the circle.
In the opening game, Vicknair struck out four batters in the five inning victory, with the lone base runner reaching in the top of the fourth inning on an error.
Cole and Vicknair each notched a double and an RBI at the plate, while fellow freshman Taylor Boulet added a double and two RBIs as part of her two-hit game. Ashley Subervielle and Codi Covington each collected a hit as well, with Covington tallying a single RBI while Subervielle added two RBIs.
Sophomores Emily Nolan, Carey Alexis and Morgan Tauzin each added a hit in the win as well.
The big inning for LSU Eunice came in the third inning when they plated five runs in support of Vicknair, using RBI groundouts from Covington and Boulet, an RBI single from Subervielle and Cole's run-scoring double.
They tacked on another run in the fourth on Boulet's RBI double to left field. Vicknair helped her own cause with a RBI double in the fifth before Subervielle's sacrifice fly later in the inning plated the final run.
The second game saw Cole take a perfect game into the sixth inning before her pitch just grazed the hand of the Jeff Davis batter with two outs in the inning for their lone base runner of the contest.
Cole tallied 12 strikeouts in the game, facing just 18 total batters.
At the plate, Nolan and freshman Dani Cruickshank each homered for the Lady Bengals, with Nolan connecting for a two-run shot to dead center field in the fourth inning and Cruickshank delivering her three-run blast over the left-center field wall an inning later in the fifth.
Nolan finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate, also adding a double, while Cruickshank finished 2-for-2 with a walk.
Covington notched two hits, including a two-run single to open the scoring in the first inning, while Vicknair notched a hit, as did sophomore Brooke Clark and freshmen Kayla Davidson, Alexa Thibodeaux and Ginny Daggett.
Davidson's hit was a two-run single up the middle to wrap up the game in the sixth inning and complete the sweep.
LSU Eunice is back in action on Tuesday, February 18 when they welcome Pearl River Community College to town for a doubleheader set for a 1 p.m. start.
Tuesday's game can be seen on Bengal All-Access.
