BOWLING GREEN, Ky – Rachel Rook threw a no-hitter and struck out 12 to lead Southeast Missouri (4-3) to a 6-0 win over Central Michigan (0-1) Friday at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic.
SEMO split its first two games at the event, dropping the latter by a tight 4-3 margin to Bellarmine (4-2).
Rook tossed the ninth non-combined no-hitter in NCAA Division I softball this season. Oklahoma and Clemson accounted for one combined no-hitter apiece in addition to those performances.
A native of Republic, Missouri, Rook retired 20-straight prior to Shannon Stein's two-out walk in the top of the seventh. Stein was the Chippewas only baserunner of the game as Rook was perfect through 6.2 frames.
She recorded the second no-hitter of her career and first seven-inning no-hitter as a Redhawk. Rook also improved to 3-1 this season, struck out the side twice and finished with over 10 strikeouts for the third time in four starts.
Karsyn Davis delivered a two-out single to score both
Kat Sackett and
Aubrie Shore giving SEMO a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Redhawks scored 19 runs in the first inning through their opening seven contests.
Alyson Tucker, who reached on a leadoff single, came around to score with the help of a
Jillian Anderson base hit and groundout by
Paige Halliwill to make it 3-0 in the second.
SEMO added another tally on a solo home run by
Kaylee Anderson in the sixth and scored a pair of unearned runs on an error in the seventh to polish off its 6-0 shutout.
K. Anderson went 3-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI to lead the Redhawks who notched nine hits. J. Anderson followed with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate.
The Redhawks met CMU in softball for the first time in 40 years.
Tied, 2-2, after three-and-a-half innings against Bellarmine, the Knights took the lead on a two-out, two-RBI single by Alexis Hargrove and that was the difference.
Abigail Rickermann singled home a run to make it a one-run game in the top of the fifth. SEMO had the bases loaded with two outs, but Bellarmine silenced the threat.
After that, the Redhawks had one more baserunner in the final two innings and the Knights held on.
Freshman
Tori Bradley and Rickermann paced SEMO with two hits apiece. K. Anderson,
Kileigh Grisham and Bradley accounted for the Redhawks runs.
The Redhawks outhit Bellarmine, 9-6, and have outhit their opponent in five of seven games thus far.
K. Anderson (1-1) took the loss in relief allowing two runs on four hits and striking out two in two innings. Rook entered the game in the sixth and fanned two of the three hitters she faced to run her strikeout total to 14 for the day.
SEMO resumes play at the Hilltopper Classic when it faces Western Kentucky at 12:30 p.m., CT Saturday.
