Fort Wayne, Ind. – Senior
Elle Buffenbarger threw her second career no-hitter to set the Youngstown State all-time wins record at 61 as the Penguins softball team defeated Purdue Fort Wayne, 6-1, in game two of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Penguins won game one, 9-3.
Buffenbarger, who is now 19-9 on the year with 200 strikeouts, is just the second pitcher in program history to record two no-hitters. She is also the first player in school history to post at least 200 strikeouts in a season on multiple occasions.
The Penguins improve to 29-22 overall and 14-9 in the Horizon League while the Mastodons fall to 7-39 overall and 6-17 in league play.
Senior
Grace Cea went 6-for-7 on the day with five doubles and four runs batted in while junior
Hailey Roach was 5-for-8 with four RBIs and two home runs.
Buffenbarger struck out five and allowed just three base runners on two hit batters and a walk in the nightcap.
Roach, who homered in each game, belted a two-run shot to left field to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
In the top of the fifth,
Elyssa Imler's squeeze bunt scored Cea and
Yazmine Romero scored on an error to give the Penguins a 4-0 lead.
Cea's double to right-center field plated pinch-runner
Sydney Payne and extended the YSU lead to 5-0 in the top of the sixth.
The Mastodons scored on sacrifice fly after the first two batters of the inning were hit by a pitch and walked, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt.
Imler was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the seventh inning and came around to score on
Megan Turner's ground-rule double.
In the opener, the Mastodons jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings, but the Penguins tied the game in the top of the third on Roach's first career home run – a solo shot – and a single by
Bree Kohler that scored
Nikki Saibene.
The Penguins, who had 13 hits in game one, plated seven runs in the top of the fourth to take an insurmountable 9-2 lead.
Purdue Fort Wayne added a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Sophomore
Sophie Howell picked up her sixth win of the year in a complete-game performance.
Youngstown State close out the regular season with a three-game series at Robert Morris, May 6-7, in Moon Township, Pa.
