Dunne No-Hits Illini; Tide Stays Unbeaten
2/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MIAMI, Fla. ?? It only took five starts, but University of Alabama true freshman pitcher Kelsi Dunne put her name in the record books. Dunne, a native of Port Orange, Fla,, returned to her home state to toss the 12th no-hitter in school history in the No. 1 Crimson Tide’s 6-0 win over Illinois in game one of the Adidas Golden Panther Invitational in Miami, Fla.
After struggling a bit in her last start against Georgia Tech last weekend, Dunne bounced back with a masterful pitching performance against the Illini. She allowed only two baserunners, both in the top of the fourth when Danielle Zymkowitz reached on an error and the next hitter, Angelina Mexicano, walked.
Dunne struck out nine hitters and threw 111 pitches in the game, earning her fifth win in as many starts and becoming the first UA pitcher to toss a no-hitter since Blair Potter blanked Kentucky on April 29, 2007.
Offensively, Jordan Praytor broke out of some early-season hitting woes with her best game of the season at the plate. Praytor had drove in three of her team’s six runs on two doubles and scored once.
Kelley Montalvo, a product of Miami’s Pace High School, made a successful homecoming with the only home run of the game. The first of her season, Montalvo drove a line drive over the left field wall in the fifth.
Reigning SEC Player of the Week Brittany Rogers went 2-of-4 with two stolen bases and two runs and Kellie Eubanks singled twice for the Tide.
Alabama faces UConn in its second game of the Adidas Golden Panther Invitational on the campus of Florida International University. That game is set to begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. (CT).
Log on to RollTide.com for links to the radio broadcast of all of the Tide’s games this weekend and for updated stats, recaps and box scores.
