From Washington University Athletics
The No. 3-ranked Washington University in St. Louis softball team picked up the program's 500th career victory with a pair of wins at The Spring Games Saturday in Clermont, Fla.
Senior Annie Pitkin tossed a perfect game with 14 strikeouts in a 10-0 five-inning win over Bethany College (W.V.) in the opener, and then the Bears recorded 15 hits in a 13-2 five-inning victory over Austin College in game two.
#3 WashU 10, Bethany (B.V.) 0 – Five Innings
Pitkin struck out 14 of 15 batter she faced en route to her second perfect game and fourth no-hitter of her career. She has a 3-0 record this year and has not allowed a run in 17 innings pitched with 38 strikeouts.
Freshman Taylor Arends gave WashU a 1-0 lead in the second on the first homerun of her career. The homerun traveled 230 feet. The Bears added three runs in the third on an RBI groundout by sophomore Hera Tang and a two-RBI single by junior Janet Taylor.
WashU put the game out of reach with six runs in the top of the fourth. Tang had the big hit of the inning, a triple to left center that scored three.
Tang went 1-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs and two runs scored, while senior Brooke Hofer (2-for-3, double, run scored) and Taylor (2-for-3, two RBI, run scored) also had multi-hit games.
#3 WashU 13, Austin 2 – Five Innings
Trailing 2-0 after a half inning, WashU scored four runs in the first and three in the third build a 7-2 lead. Taylor highlighted the first inning with a two-RBI single up the middle.
For the second-straight game, WashU put the game out of reach with six runs on seven hits in the fourth. Sophomore Melinique Walls drove in three runs with a stand-up triple down the left field line to highlight the six-run fourth.
Junior Hannah Mehrle went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and upped her conference-leading batting average to .778. Mehrle has hit safely in all six games this season.
Walls was 2-for-3 with a career-high three RBIs, while sophomore Maggie Clapp (2-for-3, two RBIs, two runs scored), Hofer (2-for-3, RBI, run scored) and Taylor (2-for-3, two RBIs, two runs scored) had multi-hit games.
Clapp (2-0) allowed one hit and struck out three in 4 1/3 innings in relief. Sophomore Mackenzie Gauden made the start for WashU and gave up two hits and two earned runs in 2/3 innings pitched.
WashU (6-0) continues its 16-game road trip in Florida with a pair of contests Sunday, March 6 against Haverford College at 3 p.m. (ET) and Susquehanna University at 5 p.m.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU has an all-time record of 500-189-1 (.725) in 17 seasons as a collegiate program … The Bears are off to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2014 and for the seventh time in school history … James upped her career hit total to 98, two shy of 100 … Pitkin's perfect game was the 10th all-time in WashU school history.