(LEBANON, Ill., April 8) – Senior pitcher Katie Ward (White Hall, Ill./North Greene HS) (White Hall, Ill./North Greene) pitched her second no-hitter of the season on Thursday in game one of a doubleheader against Hannibal-LaGrange College. The Bearcats swept the series with an 8-0 win in five innings in game one and followed with a 4-0 win in game two.
McKendree, now 21-11 overall (7-3 AMC), will host the McKendree Invitational April 9-11 and will play Millikin University at 1 p.m., Friday, followed by a game against Central Baptist College at 5 p.m.
Ward had four strikeouts in her five-inning no-hitter, but the McKendree offense gave her all the support she would need. Senior second baseman Natalee Rujawitz (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon HS) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) hit a triple in the bottom of the first inning and scored on a sacrifice bunt by junior first baseman Cathy Webb (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah HS) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) to take a 1-0 lead. The Bearcats scored four runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead and added three more in the fourth inning to cruise to the 8-0 win. Rujawitz and freshman shortstop Elizabeth Hess (Evansville, Ill./Sparta HS) (Evansville, Ill./Sparta) both had two hits and two runs scored in game one. Ward, who improved to 10-5 overall this season, last threw a no-hitter on March 29th against Stephens College.
Game two remained scoreless through the first three innings, but McKendree took advantage of a throwing error by the Trojans in the top of the fourth inning and scored two runs. The Bearcats added another in the fifth inning on a passed ball that scored senior outfielder Nicole Ostertag (O'Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell HS) (O'Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell) to take a 3-0 lead and a single by senior designated player Liz Dains (Valley Park, Mo./Valley Park HS) (Valley Park, Mo./Valley Park) scored junior pinch runner Ashley Parrott (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West HS) (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) to make the score 4-0 for the Bearcats. Sophomore pitcher Autumn Allen (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East HS) (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East) struck out nine, while only walking one, to improve to 11-6 overall on the season. Ostertag had two hits, including one run scored, for McKendree.
-McK-
