North Harrison has been having an up and down season this year. Following their 5-3 loss to Worth County, they lost a 4-3 squeaker to a good Mercer squad at Cainsville before rain forced the stoppage of play. They had an impressive win over Gilman City, played a good game against powerhouse North Andrew but lost 14-7, but then had a long, forgettable road trip to sub .500 Hamilton, where they lost 8-1.
They were playing the second of back to back nights on Tuesday, September 20th; they had to go to Albany to face an improving Warrior squad. Albany was one of those teams that has not won a lot of games, but has given some good teams fits, going the distance against NEN, Platte Valley, and Mercer; they had a 3-2 11 inning win over Worth County to their credit as well.
But faced with the prospect of going into a tailspin, the Shamrocks recovered with an impressive 12-0 win against the Warriors and put everything together, at least for one night. Pitcher Erica Gerken set the tone for the game by allowing no Warrior hits and striking out 13 without walking a batter; she only allowed two baserunners. And Jayliegh Robins and Kira Robertson were the big guns in the field, with Robins getting three hits and Robertson two. Robins nearly completed a cycle by getting a single, double, and a triple. They finally got contributions from the bottom of the order, something that has made the difference between a nailbiter and an easy win for the Shamrocks this year.
For Gerken, it was her third career no-hitter; she had one last year against East Harrison and one in junior high. She also finished a Carli Rinehart perfect game her freshman year.
With one out in the Shamrock first, Jayliegh Robins singled to right, stole second, and Ruby Heintz singled to move Robins to third. Ruby stole second and Jaci Davis struck out, but while the Albany catcher was throwing her out at first, Robins crossed the plate to make it 1-0.
Gerken allowed one of only two baserunners Albany would get as she struck out Cory Worrell, but the ball got to the backstop for a wild pitch as Worrell took first with two outs in the first. But she struck out Addisyn Crawford for her third straight strikeout. She held up well on the Albany field despite the 96 degree heat and the 101 degree heat index; handling high heat and humidity has been something Gerken has done much better at this year.
The bottom of the order has been an Achilles heel for the Shamrocks this year, but with two outs in the Shamrock second, Kira Robertson kept them going with a two out single. Kira Robertson went to second on a wild pitch and then Amber Wilson, with a 3-2 count on her, got a slap down the third base line and reached on a bobble as Kira sneaked her way to third as the Warrior defense was not paying attention. Wilson stole second. Trendi Johnson reached on a dropped throw at first; the ball rolled away, allowing Robertson to score, Wilson to take third, and Johnson to take second. With two strikes on her, Jayliegh Robins hit a perfect shot down the left field line to score two more runs for a double and Ruby Heintz singled her home to make it 5-0. All four Shamrock runs in the second and nine of their 12 runs for the game scored with two outs.
Gerken continued to carry the Shamrocks on her shoulders, striking out her sixth straight Albany batter in the second. In the third, the Shamrocks once again capitalized with two outs as Kira Robertson reached on a dropped third strike that got away. Amber Wilson walked and Trendi Johnson singled to right to score Robertson. Jayleigh Robins then provided the big blow in the inning, a triple to the left center field gap that scored two and put the Shamrocks up 8-0 after three.
Erica continued to shut down the Warriors in the third, striking out her seventh straight batter before the next two popped out to first baseman Kayka Wilson. Jaci Davis hit a pop fly that looked catchable in right, but the right fielder overran it and it got past her for a leadoff double in the Shamrock fourth. A bizarre play happened as pitcher Erica Gerken hit a pop fly that looked uncatchable at first, but then all of a sudden blew into fair territory and dropped untouched. Gerken and the Albany catcher got tangled up, Jaci Davis scrambled to third and made it safely, and Gerken, who suddenly realized it was a live ball, scrambled to first base safely. After Albany contended unsuccessfully that it was batter's interference, Katelyn Briggs struck out, but on the wild pitch, Natalie Parkhurst (running for Gerken) took second and Davis scored. Hailey Claycomb struck out, but on the dropped third strike, Parkhurst came home. Kira Robertson got her second hit, a Texas Leaguer that dropped into left field and died. Robertson, one of the fastest runners on the team, stretched a single into a double and Amber Wilson singled down the left field line and Kira scored to make it 11-0.
Gerken started another strikeout streak, setting down three straight Warrior batters in the fourth, fighting back from a 3-1 count to get Worrell. The only tense points were whether Jayliegh Robins could complete the cycle and whether Gerken could complete a no-hitter. But Albany walked Robins to start the fifth, and she stole second on an errant return throw to the pitcher. Jaci Davis grounded out to advance her and Erica Gerken singled her in to make it 12-0.
Abigail Troncin fought off some two strike pitches and reached on an error one out in the fifth. But Gerken struck out Wynona Reidlinger and got Kaylee Smith on a change to finish off the Warriors.
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