Erica Gerken tossed a no-hitter Monday and Trendi Johnson sparked the Shamrock bats with a leadoff triple against East Harrison, and North Harrison came away with the 12-0 win in five innings. Last year, Gerken combined with Carly Rinehart to toss a perfect game; in 2019, she tossed a no-hitter in junior high against Tri-County.
The Shamrocks snapped a two game losing streak with the win. Before the game, several of the players and coach Brandon Craig held an impromptu team meeting about the disappointing showing in the tournament at North Harrison two days before, in which they lost big to both Worth County and Braymer. The result was that they came into the game much more focused. Gerken set the tone on the mound; she worked much quicker and had a lot more movement on her pitches and was mostly ahead in the count. She was able to battle back on the rare occasions when she was behind; she didn't walk a single batter. The fielding was much more solid behind her. On the other side of the plate, North Harrison, against a good pitcher, hit the ball much better, getting 14 hits and four hard outs. They were much more aggressive on the basepaths, reading the ball much better than they had in the tournament, and taking the extra base when the opportunities presented themselves.
The Shamrock bats put the game away early, starting with Trendi Johnson's leadoff triple in which she crushed it to left center and flew around the bases. Camden Castleberry's towering fly ball to left was lost in the sun and dropped in for a double as Trendi scored. Jayleigh Robins walked and Ruby Heintz singled down the right field line to score Castleberry. She stole second. Katelyn Briggs hit it hard but right at the pitcher for the first out, but Jaci Davis grounded out to score Robins. Gerken's single scored Heintz and Baily Briggs singled to right to score Kira Robertson (running for Gerken) to make it 5-0.
With the ball flying off the Shamrock bats, the only tense point was whether Gerken could pitch a no-hitter, and how many she could strike out. The first tough play occurred in the bottom of the first, when second baseman Trendi Johnson snagged Marissa Meek's slow roller up the middle that looked like a potential scratch hit.
The hard hitting and aggressive baserunning that Craig had been looking for continued in the second, when Trendi Johnson stretched a single into a double. Castleberry hit a long fly ball that might have left the yard back in Eagleville, but turned into a long out as Johnson took third. Jayliegh Robins reached on an error when the ball rolled through the shortstop's legs and she stretched it into two bases as Johnson scored. Ruby Heintz shot one just past third to score Robins to make it 7-0.
After Gerken breezed through the second, the Shamrocks came up in the third. The Bobcats got Gerken out twice, got Johnson out once, but couldn't get anyone else out as five more runs crossed the plate. Back in 2017, Northeast Nodaway got Payton Craig out twice, but couldn't get anyone else out as the Shamrocks exploded for 12 runs to erase a 1-0 deficit in the fourth inning, so Gerken is following in some good footsteps. With one out, Baily Briggs singled and reached second on an error by the center fielder. Slap hitter Amber Wilson placed an opposite field double perfectly down the left field line; Briggs, who had to hold up to make sure it wasn't caught, took third. Trendi Johnson popped out, but Camden Castleberry's pop fly dropped in for a base hit as both runners scored. Jayliegh Robins hit a pop fly dropped by the first baseman; Camden, off on contact with two outs, went from first to third on the play. Ruby Heintz singled to left center to score Castleberry, Katelyn Briggs hit a shot off the second baseman's glove to score Robins, and Jaci Davis beat out a squib down the first base line to score Heintz to make it 12-0.
At that point, Craig felt comfortable enough to empty his bench, making wholesale changes. Normally a third baseman, shortstop Jaci Davis handled Sayer Hartsock's hard shot to keep Gerken's no-hitter intact. Gerken had a big battle with her best friend Michelle Boswell, who fouled several of her pitches off. But Gerken won the battle when Boswell popped up to new first baseman Lily Owens for the third out.
Lily Owens shot a single past short for the Shamrocks in the fourth. East Harrison finally got their first baserunner when new second baseman Carmon Fordyce dropped Karlee Crose's pop fly. But Fordyce atoned by throwing out Marissa Meek. Gerken got out of the fourth with no damage done when she fought back from a 3-1 count to strike out Bree Vaughn. In the Shamrock fifth, Paige Lane hit a screamer, but right at left fielder Michelle Boswell, who snagged it for an out.
The question was whether Gerken could complete her no-hitter as East Harrison came up for the fifth. Chloe Billups reached on third baseman Kayka Wilson's error, but Gerken threw out Alexis Booth for the first out. She got behind 2-0 to Hartsock, but fought back to strike her out, and then struck out Montgomery Willits for the final out to complete the no-hitter.
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