California State University at Northridge
14-3
Utah Valley
5-6
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Conley, Zoe (6-1)
L: Moore, Bailey (3-5)
Base Running:
HBP: Vansway, Brittney 1
Batting:
RBI: Glover, Taylor 1 ; Horne, Cortney 1 ; Horvath, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherman, Carissa 2 ; Glover, Taylor 1
SB: Sherman, Carissa 1 ; Glover, Taylor 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Power Pitching, including Zoe Conley's No Hitter, Propels CSUN to Doubleheader Sweep of Utah Valley
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Conley (6-1), who earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday, fanned a career-high 16 batters in the first game Tuesday. She became the first Matador since Mercedes Lovato in 2008 to record a no-hitter and finished with one hit-batter and one runner reaching via an error.Â
"Zoe has a lot of tools and watching her attack the strike zone is a lot of fun right now," CSUN head coach Tairia Flowers said. "She uses her change-up well and catches people off guard. She has a lot of weapons and you cannot sit on one pitch with her because she attacks the zone so well."Â
Conley has not allowed a run in her last 21.2 innings of work and is now 6-1 with a 1.06 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 39.2 innings of work.Â
At the plate, sophomore Carissa Sherman set a new career high with three hits from her leadoff spot. She tied a career high with two runs scored and recorded her fifth stolen base of the year.Â
Sherman led off the first with a single and quickly stole second. She then came around to score on an RBI groundout from Taylor Glover.
In the third, Glover singled and then stole second. The steal was her 11th of the season and with two outs, she came in to score on an RBI single from Savannah Horvath.Â
The Matadors' third run came via a bases-loaded walk from Cortney Horne. That was more than enough runs to back-up Conley's historic performance.Â
In game two, Utah Valley came out determined to get a hit and took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run in the top of the first. From there, Elder (6-1) was stingy and did not allow another hit. She finished with five strikeouts in four innings of work.
CSUN evened the score quickly in its half of the first. Sherman doubled to left-center to start the game and stole third during the next at-bat. The Wolverines' catcher made a throwing error on the play and Sherman came in to score.Â
In the third inning, Katie Hooper broke the 1-1 tie with a solo home run, her sixth deep fly of the year. After Glover and Taylor Nate reached safely and successfully executed a double steal, they walked home on a three-run home run from Horvath. The blast was Horvath's third of the year to go with 12 RBIs.Â
The Matadors' speed caused another throwing error on a stolen base that allowed Madison Fleming to score and give CSUN its final 6-1 advantage.Â
Pofek tossed the final three innings to earn the save for CSUN. She allowed one hit and had two strikeouts.Â
Sherman and Hooper each finished with two hits and a run scored. With five hits on the day, Sherman raised her season batting average to .347, the second-highest on the squad.Â
Aliyah Ricks added two hits, including her first double of the year. Glover had two steals in game two to raise her season total to a team-high 13. Both Nate and Sherman also finished with a steal in game two, raising both of their season totals to six.
The Matadors remain at home for their next three games. CSUN will take on Sacramento State (Noon) and Bakersfield (2:30 p.m.) on Friday, Feb. 27. The next day, the Matadors close out the month of February with a 1:30 p.m. game against College of Charleston. Â