Jamie Bridge struck out the first 17 hitters she faced before a ball was finally put in play as the sophomore recorded the first perfect game in Clarkson University Softball history on Tuesday, with the Golden Knights coming away with a sweep of Johnson State 8-0 and 6-0 at Scott Field.
The Golden Knights improved to 15-4 overall on the season, while Johnson State fell to 3-7. Clarkson will return to Liberty League action on Thursday when it travels to face Union, and the Knights will host Rochester and RIT this weekend. Johnson will travel to Lyndon St. tomorrow for a North Atlantic Conference match-up starting at 3:00p.
Bridge was dominant from the start, striking out the first three hitters of the game in the opening inning, though three-hitter Anna Bingham battled through nine pitches before finally going down looking. Then next six hitters struck out swinging and six of the next eight went down the same way but nine-hitter Kasie Craig ended the run when she lifted a medium fly ball to left-fielder Alycia Short.
Clarkson got all the offense it would need in the second inning, scoring seven times on five hits. Chelsea Elliott led off the frame with a hit but then jogged home on a line-shot home run from Katie Scott to make it 2-0. Five batters later, Jamie Bridge lifted a sacrifice fly that was dropped to allow one run to come home earned, but two more raced around the bases on the same play on the miscue and a throwing error. Katelin Ferguson later delivered an RBI groundout and Summer Lancette scored on a wild pitch to complete the scoring in the second. The game ended a frame early as pinch-runner Alycia Short was able to come home on a bases loaded passed ball with out in the bottom half of the sixth.
Scott finished 3-for-4 in the game while Elliott and Ali Schwenzfeier each had two hits in three at bats. Bridge gained her eighth victory of the season. For Johnson State, Kristy McDonnell took the loss, giving up three earned runs (eight total) in 5.1 innings.
In game two, Clarkson again scored in bunches, tallying twice in the first, fourth, and sixth innings. In the bottom of the first, Bridge led off with a triple and came home on a single from Summer Lancette. After a steal of second by Lancette, Elliott delivered a single to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, Bridge led off with a single and moved up to third on a bunt single from Lancette, but came around to score on a throwing error as the Badgers attempted to catch Bridge at third base. Lancette ended up on third due to the error and came home on a single by Schwenzfeier for a 4-0 Clarkson advantage. Finally, in the bottom half of the sixth, Elliott singled home Schwenzfeier and Jensen drove in Elliott with a double for the final score of 6-0.
Katie Pelton didn't allow a baserunner until the fourth and gave up just two hits all day, claiming her seventh win of the season with nine strikeouts and no walks over seven innings of work. The top of the Clarkson lineup did the most of the damage in game two, combining to go 9-for-14. Elliott was 3-for-4 while Bridge, Lancette, and Schwenzfeier each added two hits. Sarah Voorhis took the loss in the circle for Johnson State, giving up four earned runs in six innings on 10 hits and four walks.