(April 27th, 2015) – STRYKER: Lady Eagle pitcher Makayla Hayes came within a batter of pitching a perfect game in North Central’s win over the hometown girls of Stryker. Giving up just 1 hit, the sophomore pitched a complete game, refusing to allow a run or walk as she struck out 6 Lady Panthers in the victory.
That performance weighed heavily in North Central’s 9-0 road triumph over Stryker..
The Eagle defense was particularly stingy all contest long, assuring no runs would be scored by the Lady Panthers. It took a bit of time for the girls of Pioneer to warm up their own bats, waiting until the third inning before seeing runs begin to materialize on the scoreboard. They quickly made up for lost time, however, bringing in 3 runs in each of the next two innings of play. Going into the fifth frame, the visiting girls from North Central enjoyed a 6-0 advantage.
North Central put up another run in the top of the fifth, continuing to expand their lead. Still refusing to let Stryker get on the scoreboard, the Eagles again stepped up to the plate in the top of the sixth inning, driving in 2 more runs. With neither squad tacking runs on in the seventh and final inning, the Lady Eagles boarded the bus with a convincing victory over a Buckeye Border Conference foe under their belts.
Miranda Maynard lasted all seven innings on the mound for Stryker girls. A sophomore, Maynard allowed 5 earned runs off of 10 hits. She also earned 6 strikeouts, while walking only 1 Eagle batter.
Helping out the North Central cause from the batter’s box was Makayla Knapp. The freshman girl used a pair of singles to bring home 2 RBIs. Teammate Alyssa Swank hit for an RBI single as well. Senior Sabrina Pickford collected 2 hits, earning a single and a double.
Miranda Pegorch played spoiler, serving as the lone Lady Panther to hit off of Hayes to ruin her potentially perfect game. It was a single by Pegorch that broke up the no-hitter.