Creighton University
Alabama A&M
Softball Opens Season With Combined No-Hitter in 17-0 Win
2/17/2007 2:00:00 AM | Softball
CONWAY, Ark. - A combined no-hitter from freshman Tara Oltman and sophomore Laura Fonda, coupled with 15 hits and 17 runs helped propel the Creighton softball team to an impressive 17-0 victory over Alabama A&M (0-3) in the Bluejays' season-opener at the Central Arkansas Spring Clash Saturday morning. The 17-run margin of victory tied the school record, accomplished twice previously, last in 2000.
Oltman, a rookie out of Beatrice (Neb.) High School who tossed 13 no-hitters in her prep career, hurled three innings, walking two and striking out four to pick up the win in her collegiate debut. Fonda, who pitched a perfect game in her first career start last year, finished the game with two innings of work, with one strikeout and one walk.
The Bluejays, playing as the home team at the neutral site, scored four runs in the first inning, six in the second and seven in the fourth.
Former junior college All-American TJ Eadus had a stellar Creighton debut, smashing two home runs and finishing 2-for-4 with five RBI. Freshman Michelle Graner, an Omaha Burke graduate, homered in her first collegiate at bat and went 2-for-2 with three RBI.
Senior Jessica German went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Sophomores Jessica Wakasugi and Lau Emmsley-Chang also had two hits each in the romp.
The 17 runs were the most scored by the Bluejays since a record-setting 20 runs were scored against the College of Saint Mary on Feb. 9, 2000. That game also resulted in a 17-run margin of victory. The 17 runs were four shy of the school record and tied for the fourth-most runs scored in a game.
The game was the first of three scheduled for Saturday. The Jays will take on host Central Arkansas at 3 p.m. and Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m.
