Allison Smith went five innings to record her first collegiate no-hitter Sunday.
Ohio State softball was rolling in all facets of its game against Purdue during a 9-0 victory, but none were on such fire as Smith, who struck out seven batters while issuing just two walks. It’s the second no-hitter for the softball squad this season after Emily Ruck tossed a perfect game March 10 against Canisius, also in five innings.
A two-out rally for the Buckeyes in the bottom of the first inning kick-started the team’s offensive production, with RBI knocks from shortstop Kami Kortokrax, center fielder Meggie Otte and left fielder Jaycee Ruberti all coming in succession.
Catcher Sam Hackenbracht, who opened the two-out rally in the first frame by getting on-base, extended the Buckeyes’ lead to 5-0 in the second with a two-run base hit.
Otte then smashed a two-run home run in the fourth and coupled with a two-run single by first baseman Mariah Rodriguez later that frame, Smith got a shot to lock down her no-hitter via run-rule in the top of the fifth inning.
While Smith remained on-edge with a walk and hit-by-pitch in that final inning, a groundout and two flyouts secured the feat and started some celebration amongst her teammates.
With the five innings of no-hit pitching, Smith improved her record to 16-9 on the year, and she now has the third-most strikeouts in the Big Ten with 179. Her ERA dropped to a team-best 2.77.
