That’s one way to win a game.
Northwestern State softball squeezed out a 5-3 win over Missouri State on Saturday despite getting no-hit, securing one of the more bizarre victories in recent memory.
The Demons went 0-for-19 with one strikeout against Bears pitchers Brylee Brewster and Emily Korando — but jumped out to an early lead behind strong plate discipline and a splash of blind luck.
“Hits are overrated,” the team joked on social media after the game.
All of NSU’s five runs came in the first inning, as Brewster walked the first three batters and watched one score on a hit by pitch.
With Brewster unable to locate the zone, Missouri State quickly summoned Korando from the bullpen. She got the first out of the frame on a fielder’s choice at home, but two more walks and a throwing error plated four additional runs (three earned).
JT Smith, NSU’s leadoff hitter who drew the initial walk, said that challenging Brewster to find the strike zone was part of the team’s initial gameplan.
Granted, it worked far better than they could have anticipated.
“We saw on film, watching it earlier in the day, that she had a little issues with control if she wasn’t spot on, which — as a leadoff, it’s really important to see some pitches,” said Smith.
“Luckily, I didn’t have to swing the bat. She gave me four balls. I’ll gladly take four balls, and [No. 2 hitter Sophia Livers] did the same thing behind me, and then [No. 3 hitter Sister Arnold] and [No. 4 hitter Brynn Daniel]. So I think it was just contagious, knowing what the people in front of you did and not trying to do too much in that situation.”
While the Demons only had four baserunners the rest of the game — courtesy of three more walks and another HBP — pitcher Mattison Buster kept the Bears at bay by hurling a seven-inning complete game with six hits and three runs (two earned).
Northwestern State punctuated the win with a highlight-reel catch from right fielder Mckenna Rinewalt, who made a clutch diving grab at the warning track to strand the go-ahead run on deck.
Amazingly, NSU entered Saturday’s contest riding a 14-0 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff one day earlier, in which the Demons allowed zero hits before triggering the fifth-inning run rule.
Both contests were held at Northwestern State’s Lady Demon Diamond in Natchitoches, Louisiana, as part of the City of Lights Classic.
