From University of Chicago Athletics
Senior Jordan Poole hurled a no-hitter as part of a record-setting Thursday afternoon for the University of Chicago softball team, which shut out visiting Hope College in a pair of victories.
The Maroons improved to 19-6 and dropped the Flying Dutch to 18-14 on the season.
Alongside Poole's no-hitter, senior outfielder Devan Parkison set a new school record with her 61st career stolen base in game one. Her steal of second base in the bottom of the third inning broke her tie with alumna Erin Slone (1998-2001).
Game One – UChicago 1, Hope 0
The afternoon's opening contest turned quickly into a pitching duel. Poole ran into trouble at the outset, as two walks and an error loaded the bases. However, all three outs in the first inning came via strikeout to keep Hope off the scoreboard.
From that point on, Poole blazed through the Flying Dutch lineup. She ended up striking out eight batters versus seven walks allowed in eight innings of work. The senior recorded the second no-hitter of her career, with the previous one coming against Carthage College – a 1-0 win on March 23, 2014.
UChicago nearly broke through in the bottom of the third when Parkison singled to left field and then stole second base. Junior designated player Anna Woolery followed by singling to right field, but Parkison was cut down at home plate on the relay throw.
Neither team was able to muster a hit over the next five innings, forcing extra frames. Hope put two more runners on via walk in the eighth, but Poole erased the final two batters with swinging strikeouts.
The bottom of the eighth proved fruitful for the Maroons. Freshman second base Colleen Bennett battled through her leadoff at-bat and eventually drew a walk. A sacrifice bunt and a groundout moved her to third base and put UChicago 60 feet from victory. Parkison absorbed a hit by pitch to bring Woolery to the plate with two outs. The initial pitch skipped away from the catcher in the dirt and Bennett sprinted home, sliding head first under the tag to provide the 1-0 walk-off win.
UChicago finished with three hits and two errors. Woolery went 2-for-3 and Poole improved her season record to 5-3.
Game Two – UChicago 5, Hope 0
Molly Moran stepped up in game two and delivered a nearly equal performance to Poole's. The sophomore pitcher tossed a five-hit shutout – the third of her career. She walked one while using her fastball-changeup combination effectively to strike out seven batters.
Hope's infield defense proved porous with four errors in the game, and UChicago took advantage each time. The Maroons scored one run each in the second, third and fourth innings. Bennett knocked a single off the pitcher to score freshman outfielder Carly Schulz from second to tally the first run. A throwing error plated Moran in the bottom of the third, and Moran then delivered an RBI infield single in the fourth.
The fifth inning staked the Maroons to a 5-0 lead they would hold the rest of the way. Another Hope miscue put runners on first and third with no outs. Parkison promptly stole second base and one run came in when Woolery lifted a deep RBI sacrifice fly to center field. The fourth error by the Flying Dutch accounted for the final score.
With a runner at third base in the top of the seventh, Moran (6-3 record) shut the door and preserved her shutout with a strikeout. The occasion marked the first back-to-back UChicago shutouts since March 26, 2014.
UChicago ended with six hits and two errors committed.