White Tosses No-Hitter as Softball Goes 2-0 on Opening Day

CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- In her first game as a Bear, sophomore pitcher Amber White (Middleboro, Mass.) tossed a complete game, no-hitter to lead the Bridgewater State University softball team to a season-opening 7-0 victory over Alverno College in Cape Coral, Florida.  The Bears would edge Wittenberg University, 5-4, in their second game of the day.

White fanned 13 and set down the first 14 batters she faced before allowing a two-out walk in the fifth inning. After the walk, White retired the final seven batters to complete the no-hitter.

Jennifer Shaw (Brockton, Mass.) paced the Bears offensively as she belted a grand slam in a five-run fifth inning and plated the first run of the game on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the first.

In the second game of the day versus Wittenberg, White (2-0) came on in relief of junior starter Meghan Dunn (Colchester, Conn.) to pick up her second win in the circle.

Bridgewater led 3-0 through four innings of play.  The Bears got on the board in the top of the first on an RBI single by Penny King (Hanover, Mass.).  BSU added two more runs in the third as both Jordan McDermott (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Stephanie Burns (North Attleboro, Mass.) came around to score on Michaela Ferreira's (Fall River, Mass.) sacrifice fly.  Burns, who was on second, tagged up and went to third and then scored as King, who had walked to load the bases, got in a run down between first and second.

Witteneberg quickly erased that deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning.  A single and back-to-back RBI doubles pulled the Tigers to within a run.  White was called on to relieve Dunn and gave up a run-scoring triple followed by an RBI ground out as the Tigers moved out in front, 4-3.

Wittenberg's lead was short-lived, however, as Bridgewater answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to jump back ahead, 5-4.  With one out, Brianna Strecker (Waterford, Conn.) belted her first home run of the season to tie the game at 4-4. Pinch hitter Jasmyn McCone (Taunton, Mass.) followed with a walk and promptly stole second.  McCone went to third on a ground out and scored on McDermott's RBI single.

White would retire seven of the last nine batters she faced to secure the win for the Bears.

Dunn pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and five walks while striking out five.  White worked the last 2 1/3 inning, giving up one run on one hit and two walks with three strikeouts.

McDermott went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run and an RBI.

Bridgewater will take on Dominican University and Rochester Institute of Technology on Sunday morning.