Williams Deals No-Hitter as #3 USAO Splits at Texas Wesleyan

FORT WORTH, Texas – Friday afternoon, the No. 3 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (31-7, 21-3 SAC) opened the weekend with a double header split on the road at Texas Wesleyan University (18-12, 16-6 SAC). The Drovers began the series with a 5-0 victory as Sophie Williams dealt her fifth career no-hitter, followed by a 5-3 loss in game two. With the split, the Drovers move to 34-10 against the Rams all-time, including a 21-3 record in their last 24 meetings.

GAME 1

The Drovers claimed an early lead in the series opener and cruised to a 5-0 win, courtesy of a tremendous performance from Sophie Williams. 

After a scoreless first inning, the Drovers claimed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning as Jadyn Goucher drove in Sophie Williams with a double to left field, prior to Goucher being driven in by Taygan Graham. USAO doubled its lead one inning later as Sierra Selfridge launched a two-run home run, her 12^thlongball of the season. In the top of the sixth inning, the Drovers stretched the advantage to 5-0 as Sophie Williams launched her second homer of the season. Williams and the Drover defense held the Rams offense quiet for the remainder of the contest to extend their win streak to a dozen. 

Sophie Williams got the start in the circle for USAO and earned her fifth career no-hitter, surrendering zero runs on zero hits and she struck out seven batters to improve her record to 16-3 this season. In her stellar career, Williams owns an 87-22 record, along with a 1.33 earned run average and 851 strikeouts in 695.2 innings of work. The shutout is also the 35^th of her career, and in addition to her four no-hitters, she has also recorded seven perfect games since the start of 2022.

As a team, the Drovers offense produced eight hits and drew four walks, while the Rams were held hitless and reached the bases on three walks. USAO was perfect on defense, while TX WES committed one fielding error.

USAO's offense was led by a pair of two-hit performances from Malea McMurtrey and Sophie Williams. McMurtrey concluded 2-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Williams helped her own cause by going 2-3 with a homer, two runs scored, and a run batted in. 

Sierra Selfridge drove in a pair of runs as she finished 1-4 with a home run, and Jadyn Goucher went 1-3 with a double, a run scored, and a run batted in. Taylor Cronic and Kenzie Williams each singled once in the series opener.  

GAME 2 

The Drovers saw an early lead slip away and snap their win streak in game two, falling 5-3.

Game two began with a scoreless first inning, prior to USAO scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second and once in the third to take a 3-0 advantage. However, the Rams responded with five unanswered runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to claim a 5-3 lead. Neither team managed to score for the remainder of the game, snapping USAO's win streak at 12 games. 

As a team, the Drovers offense produced only four hits and did not draw a walk, while the Rams tallied a dozen hits and were walked three times. Texas Wesleyan's defense committed three fielding errors, while USAO defense was unblemished. 

Four different Drovers tallied singles in the second game, including 1-2 performances from Malea McMurtrey and Jaylee Willis. Taylor Cronic and Kenzie Williams also singled. Sierra Selfridge and Taygan Graham each drove in a run. 

Jayden Anderson got the start in the circle for USAO and went 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and struck out two batters. Gabby Toquothty made a quick appearance before Aubree Ferguson pitched the final 2.2 innings. Ferguson did not allow a run, and she struck out one batter while surrendering three hits. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers and Rams will conclude the four-game series with another double-header on Saturday, April 12 in Fort Worth, Texas. First pitch of the twin bill is slated for 12:00 PM CT at Sycamore Park.  

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