Sophomore Emily Richardson (Oak Park, Ill./River Forest) flirted with a no-hitter on Saturday morning for the Valparaiso University softball team on the second day of action from the Troy Classic, but would eventually settle for a one-hitter as the Crusaders defeated Tennessee State, 9-0. Valpo fell to the host Trojans in its second game of the day, 7-0.

How It Happened – Tennessee State

• After scoring just three runs over Friday’s two games, the Crusaders put up four runs out of the gate in the first inning Saturday.
• Valpo had nobody on with two out before six straight batters reached to account for the four-spot. Freshman Addi Burke (Mesquite, Texas/John Horn) opened the scoring with an RBI single, and sophomore Addison Pixley (Osceola, Ind./Penn) followed with a run-scoring double. Later in the inning, senior Jenna Stauffenberg (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) brought home both Pixley and Burke with a two-run base hit.
• The Crusaders used the long ball to extend their lead to 6-0 in the fifth inning. Junior Jaymee Lawton (Goodyear, Ariz./Desert Edge [Utah Valley]) fought back from an 0-2 count to even the count at 2-2 before connecting on her first homer of the season to lead off the inning .Senior Lanie Callaghan (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) made it back-to-back homers with a solo shot to left field.
• While the Crusaders were putting six runs on the board, Richardson was keeping the Tiger hitters off balance. TSU’s only baserunners through the first five innings came on a walk in the first, an error in the second and two walks in the fifth, as no Tiger advanced past second base in the opening five frames.
• Valpo put itself into position to win via run rule with a three-run sixth inning. Lawton delivered a bases-loaded single to score two runs, while later in the inning, a TSU error allowed senior Taylor Lawson (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) to score to make it 9-0 Crusaders.
• Richardson entered the bottom of the sixth needing just three outs to complete the no-hitter, but after inducing a pop-up for the first out, Kasey Cox connected for a double. That would be TSU’s lone hit, however, as Richardson registered the last two outs in the air to complete the shutout.

How It Happened – Troy

• Valpo looked the more likely to score early on against the host Trojans, getting runners on base in each of the first two innings – including leadoff singles in both the first and second inning.
• The Crusaders’ best shot at cracking the scoreboard came in the fourth inning, as three singles loaded the bases with just one away before a groundball double play kept Valpo from pushing a run across.
• Meanwhile, senior Kenzie Grossmann (Perry, Mo./Mark Twain [Morehead State]) was strong early on, holding Troy without a hit through the first four innings while inducing nine groundouts.
• Troy broke through in the bottom of the fifth, however. Back-to-back singles were followed by a Crusader error to plate the game’s first run, and Bailey Taylor drove in two more with a base hit later in the inning.
• The Trojans added four runs in the sixth for the final margin.

Inside the Games

• Richardson’s one-hitter came in just her third career start. The sophomore, who struck out five in the winning effort, recorded her second career victory.
• Valpo’s last no-hitter came back in March of 2013, when Amanda Bolton held Temple hitless in a 9-0 Crusader win.
• Lawton led the Crusaders’ 12-hit attack versus Tennessee State as she went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Lawson also recorded a pair of hits in the win as well, as eight of Valpo’s nine starters registered a base hit.
• Lawton and Callaghan’s back-to-back home runs against the Tigers marked the first time the Crusaders have hit consecutive homers since Callaghan and Kaitlyn Ranieri went yard in back-to-back at-bats against Green Bay on April 5, 2016.
• Sophomore Taylor Bowman (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) picked up her first career hit as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning versus TSU and came around to score the inning’s first run.
• Grossmann took the loss against Troy despite surrendering just one earned run in 4.1 innings of work, as she fell to 1-1 on the year.
• Burke recorded the second multi-hit game of her young career versus the Trojans, while senior Jasmine Ramirez (Litchfield Park, Ariz./Millennium) tallied two hits against Troy as well.
• While Valpo had at least one runner reach base in six of the seven innings against Troy, the Crusaders had just three at-bats with a runner in scoring position in the game and went 1-for-3. Valpo was 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the win over Tennessee State earlier in the day.

Next Up

Valpo (2-2) was originally scheduled to close out tournament play against SIUE Sunday morning, but with inclement weather forcing postponement of Saturday’s late games, the Crusaders’ schedule for Sunday is up in the air. As updates are available, the @ValpoSoftball Twitter account will also pass along any scheduling updates.