MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 1) – Senior pitcher
Hannah Killough delivered a school-record fourth-career no-hitter behind nine strikeouts on Thursday afternoon, as the Trojans produced a season-opening sweep with a pair of run-rule victories against St. Andrews, posting an 8-0 shutout win in Game 1 before tallying four home runs in a 12-0 victory in Game 2 at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field.
With the sweep, the University of Mount Olive softball team begins the 2024 campaign with a 2-0 record after being picked fourth in the preseason Conference Carolinas poll, which was released last week. Interim head coach
Luke Shamblin also collects his initial two victories at the helm of the program. Meanwhile, St. Andrews falls to 0-2 overall during the season-opening week.
Killough tossed her fourth career no-hitter to become the all-time school record-holder. In Game 1, she registered nine strikeouts while surrendering two walks in 5.0 scoreless innings pitched. Killough, the 2022 Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year, faced 18 batters and retired the side four times in the season-opening victory in the circle.
Senior
Courtlynn Cooney produced a bunt single to begin the bottom of the first inning before advancing to third following a stolen base and a wild pitch. With one out, senior
Carly Curcio drew a walk and moved into scoring position with a stolen base. Fellow senior
Kylie Emanuele registered an RBI on a sacrifice fly to right field to take a 1-0 lead before Curcio scored a passed ball to extend the advantage, 2-0.
Following a pair of scoreless innings, the Trojans totaled four runs on four hits to stretch the lead to 6-0. Senior
Cana Shrock and junior
Alyssa Smothers reached base to begin the bottom half of the fourth before freshman
Laci Best laced an RBI single up the middle. With a pair of runners in scoring position, senior
Lark Collins delivered another RBI single to center field. Cooney followed up with a sacrifice fly to left field and Collins also scored on the play after a throwing error by the outfielder.
In the bottom of the fifth, senior
Ashlyn Porter belted a double to right-center field before Shrock singled to left field to place runners on the corners. After Shrock stole second, senior
Adrianna Efird delivered an RBI single before a fielding error brought in the game-winning rule to seal the 8-0 win.
In Game 2, Emanuele finished 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. Freshman
McKenzie Millard went 2-for-2 with one RBI, two runs scored, and three stolen bases, while Best also finished 2-for-3 with a solo homer and one run scored.
Following two scoreless innings, the Trojans established a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI ground out by Cooney following a leadoff single from Millard and a pair of stolen bases.
The UMO offense exploded in the fourth inning with 11 runs on nine hits, including four home runs, all with two outs. Emanuele laced a solo homer to left field to stretch the lead to 2-0 before Smothers drew a walk on the following at-bat. Junior
Olivia Reardon laced an RBI triple to left field during the next at-bat and Millard continued with an RBI single, 4-0. The Trojans eventually stretched the lead to 6-0 before Collins and Best registered back-to-back homers to hold a 9-0 advantage. The next at-bat, Curcio belted a double before Emanuele hit an RBI double to left field, 10-0. Efird entered the game as a pinch hitter and blasted a two-run homer to center field to stretch the lead to 12-0.
Junior Callie Thorton tossed a complete-game shutout with seven strikeouts over five innings in the circle. She faced 17 batters and yielded just two hits and one walk while retiring the side twice.
The Trojans will host a three-team round-robin tournament on Feb. 3-4 this weekend as they welcome UVA Wise and Virginia Union for non-conference play.
