Golden Falcons' Waddell no-hits Hunt

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 16, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- One out.

Runners on first and second.

Charles B. Aycock pitcher Taylor Waddell took a deep breath, went into her wind-up and jammed Hunt's Samantha Waddell with an inside pitch. Waddell's grounder bounced to second baseman Cassandra Lassiter, who tagged out courtesy runner Brittany Glover and gunned down Waddell at first base for the inning-ending U-4-3 double play.

The Warriors never reached base again.

Taylor Waddell threw her first-ever no-hitter -- a five-inning, 11-0 mercy-rule thrashing of winless Hunt on a sun-drenched Tuesday afternoon. The right-hander allowed just three batters to reach base and posted four strikeouts.

"I didn't know," a shocked Waddell said about the no-hitter.

"It feels really good, actually."

A right-hander, Waddell yielded a lead-off walk to Hunt's Madison Pyle to start the game. She proceeded to retire the next 10 batters she faced on seven groundouts, one infield pop-up and two strikeouts.

"I was nervous with the first batter, but I knew that I was going to be OK," Waddell said. "So, I just went in there and threw strikes, and had confidence in myself."

CBA's defense helped, too, especially with the double play.

Consecutive infield errors put the Warriors (0-4 overall) in business in the top half of the fourth inning. But Waddell, who worked diligently in the offseason to change speeds and hit her spots, constantly frustrated Hunt's batters.

The Lassiter-Mackenzie Wheeler DP lifted Taylor Waddell's spirits.

"That boosted my confidence and made me know that my defense was backing me up and it made me feel really good," Waddell said.

Waddell logged her third 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fifth, which included back-to-back strikeouts of Sarah Bullock and Amerot Stinagle.

Offensively, the Golden Falcons (6-0) continued their normal slow start at the plate. They touched Sam Waddell for three hits, but left three runners -- all in scoring position -- on base.

Aycock finally scratched in the third inning.

Lead-off hitter Tamika "Mookie" Powell dropped a base hit into shallow right field. Connor Vinson reached on a fielder's choice as Hunt tried to prevent Powell scoring from third base.

Lassiter drew a walk, which loaded the sacks for clean-up hitter Madison Walton. Waddell coaxed Walton into a fielder's choice grounder that forced Powell out at the plate.

Then the offensive explosion occurred.

Hannah Vinson -- on a two-strike count -- ripped a two-strike, two-RBI laser up the middle for the first two runs of the game. Walton scored on Allison Shingleton's ground out to second base.

"I relaxed, she threw me (a pitch) inside, so I just turned on it," Vinson said. "We were impatient (early), ahead of everything. (Once) we got used to the pitches, we swung the bat like we usually do."

Aycock plated eight fourth-inning runs and claimed its second mercy-rule victory in its last three outings. Every starter recorded at least one hit, including Waddell, who stroked a three-RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning.