On Monday, the Central Blue Devils softball team swept the twin-bill against the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders on the back of senior Kaylee Whittaker’s dominant no-hitter, the first in program history at the Division I level.
Offensively, Central was led by a pair of two-run home runs by juniors KC Machado and Ava Cino in the first and fourth innings, respectively. Sophomore Ashlyn Desaulniers tacked on an RBI single in the sixth, and CCSU cruised to a 5-0 win.
The second game proved to be a much tighter contest, as the Blue Devils held a slim 2-0 lead into the final frame, courtesy of two fielder’s choices.
The two-run lead almost proved insufficient as the Crusaders scored a run in the top of the seventh to pull within one. They had the go-ahead run on second base before freshman pitcher Liz Hamilton shut the door, securing a slim 2-1 victory.
Blue Devil pitching held Holy Cross to just five hits and one run combined across the two games. Two freshmen, Hamilton and Adrianna Green, who started the game, held the Holy Cross offense in check for the entire second game.
“It felt good,” Green said. “I felt that we all came together and did our job.”
Whittaker, who completed her first career no-hitter by striking out the side to end the first game, said she was nervous but stayed silent and kept her nerves in check.
“Nobody, including myself, said anything because we didn’t want to jynx it,” Whittaker said. “Going into that seventh inning, I definitely had some nerves just because I knew what was on the line. But you just got to take it like any other inning.”
Undefeated at 6-0, the Blue Devils are off to their best start to a season since 2016. Head coach Breanne Gleason hopes this is only just the beginning.
“It’s great to see these kids win,” Gleason said. “It’s nice to see all of their hard work pay off. Obviously, we have a long way to go, but I think we’re seeing a lot of good things right now, and it’s nice to see them having a good time.”
The Blue Devils hit the road for the next few weeks to play in warmer climates before returning to New Britain on March 16 to open Northeast Conference play against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
