(Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran University)
SHERMAN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran junior right-hander Maitlin Raycroft tossed her sixth no-hitter of the 2017 season and set the new NCAA Division III record for no-hitters in a single season.
Raycroft established the new NCAA record in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday against Austin College. Before her sixth no-hitter, Raycroft shared the NCAA mark with Allyson Fournier of Tufts (2015) and Rachel Johnson of Salisbury (2014).
Against the Kangaroos, the Bulldogs won 10-0 in five innings as Raycroft struck out 13 and faced just two batters over the five-inning minimum. She hit one batter, and another batter reached on a wild pitch following a strikeout. The game was called after five innings due to the eight-run rule.
Raycroft has thrown six no-hitters in her last nine starts. In three games this week, Raycroft tossed a perfect game (her fifth no-hitter) against Mary Hardin-Baylor, a one-hitter against Austin College, and a no-hitter against Austin College.
Her six no-hitters ranks eighth among all NCAA Divisions for a single-season:
No-Hitters Player, Team (Division) Year Cl. NH
Michele Granger, California (I) 1993 Sr. 9
TLU won both games of the Sunday doubleheader with Austin College at Sherman's Old Settlers Park. The Bulldogs took the first game 16-3 in five innings.
TLU improved to 20-4 overall and stretched its overall win streak to 20 games. The Bulldogs, three-time defending champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, are 10-0 in the conference race this year after the four-game sweep of the Kangaroos.
TLU has finished as the NCAA DIII Tyler Regional runner-up in two of the last three seasons.
Austin College dropped to 4-22 overall and to 1-11 in the SCAC.
Raycroft has won 10 consecutive decisions. She is 10-2.
TLU returns to Seguin for a Monday non-conference doubleheader against Hardin-Simmons. The Bulldogs and Cowgirls start the doubleheader at 3 p.m. at TLU's Ed Kruse Stadium - Morck Softball Field.