Friday, May 5, 2023

BURNABY, B.C. – After a day of waiting for the weather to cooperate, Northwest Nazarene didn’t have to wait long to get the bats fired up and senior Sidney Booth took care of business in the circle, throwing the second no-hitter in GNAC Softball Championships history.

Booth was highly efficient for the Nighthawks, getting the job done with only 77 pitches in five innings. She finished the game with four strikeouts and allowed just three baserunners on a pair of walks and a hit batter. The no-hitter is the second of her season and sends NNU onward to the third day of the tournament with a 12-0 victory.

 Sophomore Clarissa Moreno got the scoring started on the very first pitch of the day, blasting a solo home run over the left field fence to give the Nighthawks the early 1-0 lead. Two walks and a single later, Nighthawks had the bases loaded with no outs and junior Abigail Gagnon up to bat.

Gagnon extended the lead by drilling a 2-RBI double into left-center to make the score 3-0 and knock Saint Martin’s starting pitcher Tia Ridings out of the game without making an out. That lead would extend to 4-0 by the end of the first inning with a sacrifice fly by NNU’s Madison Felter bringing in Sidney Booth to score. All nine Nighthawks batters made a trip to the plate in the first frame.

Booth, who also picked up the start in the circle for NNU, followed up the offensive outpouring by sitting down the top of the Saint Martin’s lineup in order. She picked up her first four strikeouts to end the first inning.

The Nighthawks continued to ramp up the pressure on Saint Martin’s relief pitcher Abby Runyon by loading the bases with no outs in the second inning. Runyon did well to limit the damage in the second frame though, only conceding one run after hitting Booth with a pitch to bring in NNU’s fifth run of the game.

Northwest Nazarene continued its trend of putting balls in play early in the third inning as sophomore Charlotte Forniss opened the frame with a first-pitch single. Runyon put herself into more trouble, allowing a single to Kellcie Adams before a wild patch and a walk loaded the bases for NNU once again. Moreno was there to capitalize once again, hitting a deep sacrifice fly to double down on her RBI total.

Northwest Nazarene seniors Tori Hensley and Maia McNicoll piled on the damage in the third inning to extend the lead to 8-0 by the end of the inning. Hensely knocked an RBI single through the infield while McNicoll cranked a hit into shallow left field to bring in another pair of runs. Runyon stemmed the bleeding for the Saints by striking out Gagnon looking with her fourth punchout of the game.

Saint Martin’s held NNU scoreless for the first time in the fourth inning using a pair of lineouts to the infielders and a fly-outs. Despite putting three balls in play, The SMU offense couldn’t find a hole in the Nighthawks’ defense, however, with second baseman Jami Obringer making a leaping catch to keep the Saints out of the hit column.

The fifth inning opened with Hensley picking up her third hit of the day to make it four of the first five NNU leadoff batters to reach base. That leadoff single would come back to haunt Saint Martin’s as Hensely and three others came around to score for the Nighthawks on a two-out, first-pitch grand slam by Forniss.

The grand slam was the biggest hit of the game for NNU as Forniss led the Nighthawks at the plate by going 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. As a team, Northwest Nazarene amassed 13 hits and drew four walks while leaving eight runners on base.

The fifth inning proved critical for Booth after she hit Saint Martin’s junior Megan Convery to start off the frame. A tricky infield fly and a sharp ground ball handled by NNU shortstop Moreno set the table for the final out of the game as centerfielder Madison Felter secured the no-hitter for her pitcher.