McKenzie Tosses Perfect Game Against Winthrop

Wednesday, March 26

Raleigh, N.C.

3:00 PM

NC State

17-17

Winthrop

17-12

Winthrop

NC State

3/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. Mendy McKenzie (8-4) was flawless against Winthrop on Wednesday, March 26, tossing a perfect game in six innings as NC State clubbed the Eagles 8-0 in the second game of a doubleheader at the Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium. The Clemmons, N.C. native tied her season-high with 10 K’s en route to dismissing all 18 batters she faced.

The no-no stands as the 11th in State’s five-year history. It also marks the program’s third perfect game, second of the six-inning variety.

“I’m just so happy for Mendy,” said head coach Lisa Navas. “She did everything that we needed and more, and it’s a special situation for her.”

The last Wolfpack no-hitter came courtesy of All-American Abbie Sims at Campbell on April 18, 2007. Sims showing against the Camels was also a perfect game.

The twin bill sweep pushes State to 18-16 on the year, while Winthrop falls to 17-13. Cari Wooldridge (8-7) suffered the defeat, allowing four earned runs and nine hits from the circle.

McKenzie struck out the side in the top of the second, fanning six of nine batters between the first three frames total.

Two hits and three costly Winthrop errors helped the Pack cruise to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Ashleigh Davis reached first and hustled to second on a grounder to third base when Pearl Coleshill nearly threw the ball over the fence. Alyssa Allbritten followed by pushing Davis with a gem of a sac-bunt. Kristine Bechtholdt then sent a grounder to short to score Davis, but an E6 by Stephanie Reid allowed Bechtholdt to reach safely. Krystal Hawkins would then come on to run in Bechtholdt’s place.

Alyssa Ishibashi brought Hawkins around from second with a bloop hit into shallow right, and Ishibashi later scored when Lisa Nentwig belted an RBI double to the wall in deep right-center. Nentwig crossed the plate from second when Bridget Desbois chopped a routine grounder to short and Reid’s throw to first sailed high.

The Pack added another scratch in the bottom of the fifth when Smith scored on an Allbritten foul out.

The red and white put the game to rest with three final runs in the bottom of the sixth. Desbois drilled a two-base bullet down the left line, scoring Eliza Jacobellis from second. Desbois then moved to third on a wild pitch, before crossing the plate on an RBI pinch-hit single into right from Claudia Cooper.

Smith the shut the cellar door with a triple to the corner in right, scoring Lauren Peters who was running for Cooper.

“The two wins today are both huge for us because we showed up to play,” said Navas. “We got contributions from everyone on the team.”

State will return to the diamond this weekend with a three-game set at Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. The series begins on Saturday, March 29 with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., with the closer coming on Sunday, March 30 at 12 noon.