Junior pitcher Hope Trautwein struck out 14 batters in a complete-game performance for the Mean Green in their opening game of a home-hosted tournament against Creighton (3-4) at Lovelace Stadium.
North Texas (5-1) drew their first run from a solo home run by sophomore infielder Tayla Evans over the center-field wall in the bottom of the first inning.
Trautwein throughout the first four innings pitched one batter over the minimum. At the top of the fifth inning, Blue Jays catcher Mikaela Pechar managed to reach second base through an error in center field, later scoring on a fielder’s choice.
Creighton pitcher Mikayla Santa Cruz retired 17 straight North Texas batters after a single by senior outfielder Hanna Rebar in the bottom of the first inning. The Mean Green had no base runners between innings two and six.
“You have to give credit to Creighton’s pitcher,” head coach Rodney DeLong said. “She’s tough, and she threw a really good game. You can’t lose your composure and you just have to get in there and keep fighting to try and work your way through at-bats.”
Consecutive walks for North Texas and a wild pitch for Santa Cruz allowed runners to reach second and third base in the bottom of the seventh inning, where junior outfielder Kourtney Williams drove in the game-winning run on a single up the middle.
Trautwein earned her third win of the season by completing the game with seven innings pitched and 14 strikeouts, while allowing one hit, no earned runs and no walks.
“Hope put in the work this offseason,” DeLong said. “She’s worked her tail off and she threw like a number one should throw. She was ready tonight, she carried us and that’s what we expect every time she gets the ball.”
UP NEXT: Stay tuned for further updates on the second day of the North Texas Tournament as the Mean Green play Abilene Christian (2-4) and Missouri State (2-5) Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Featured Image: Lacy Gregory stands between two of her teammates on the field during softball practice on Jan. 31, 2020. Image by John Anderson
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily