SOUTH WAYNE - Nicki Becker said the weather was perfect for Tuesday's battle between first place Juda-Albany and second place Black Hawk. On the mound, Becker was nearly perfect herself.
The all-state senior took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out 17 to lead the defending state champion Panthers past the host Warriors 3-1.
"My ball was moving great in this weather. It was just working for me," Becker said. "Everything felt good. I was really snapping off the ball."
Black Hawk coach Curt Leuzinger thought he had a plan for his hitters, but Becker would throw wrenches into the mix of riseballs and changeups.
"That first pitch is usually a strike, and we have to tell our kids to swing," Leuzinger said. "If she gets ahead of you, she's pretty much got you. She's in control and she's going to make you swing at bad stuff. That's just how it is."
Becker sat down the first 10 hitters she faced, notching nine strikeouts in the stretch. An error by Juda third baseman Maddie Roth allowed Hannah Herbst to reach in the top of the fourth, but Becker mowed down the next two batters to escape the inning undamaged.
Offensively, Juda-Albany took advantage of some defensive miscues by Black Hawk. Hailey Kammerer walked to open the game and later scored. Hailey Freitag reached second on a booted ball by first baseman Cheyenne Stewart. Then freshman pitcher Bailey Butler was able to get out of the inning. In the second inning, Briana Crull led off with a single but moved around the bases and scored without the ball getting put into play by a batter.
"They came to play right away and we were a little lackadaisical," Leuzinger said. "We kept it close. We don't have those errors, it's possibly a tie here after seven."
Juda's last run came in the fifth, as Lydia Bouc reached on a single and moved up on an error by left fielder Mia Jackson. Kammerer came through with an RBI single moments later.
"We were able to put a couple hits together and manufacture a couple of runs," Juda-Albany coach Bill Davis said.
Butler was able to hold her own through much of the game, however. She finished with seven strikeouts, five hits and just two walks.
"I was relaxed. I just had to pitch strikes and let my team do their work," Butler said. "(Juda-Albany is) a good team, we just have to show up and play with them."
Becker had nothing but praise for her counterpart.
"The Butlers are really good. (Bailey) was throwing deceivingly hard. She's strong, and she's got a high fastball that caught a lot of us," Becker said.
At the dish, Crull was the only player with multiple hits.
"(Butler) is pretty good. She hit her spots and our strikeouts were up higher than they normally are," Davis said. "She threw a great game."
With one out in the seventh, Hannah Butler broke the no-hitter with a line drive ground rule double over the head of Kammerer in center field. She scored on a single by Natalie Leuzinger just a few pitches later.
Becker stifled the comeback attempt in short order, however, striking out Jackson and Stewart to end the game.
"It was like the momentum was changing, and then all of a sudden we just didn't have it all," Bailey Butler said.
With the win, Juda-Albany (13-2, 9-0) takes a two-game lead on Black Hawk (9-5, 7-2).
"This was a playoff-caliber type game. It was a pretty good win," Davis said, adding that the Six Rivers is deeper than perceived. "Black Hawk and Barneveld are very competitive. Then on the other side there's Highland, Belmont and Potosi. There's some good competition here in our conference."
The Panthers return to action Thursday at home against Belmont (14-3). Black Hawk hosts Darlington Friday.
The all-state senior took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out 17 to lead the defending state champion Panthers past the host Warriors 3-1.
"My ball was moving great in this weather. It was just working for me," Becker said. "Everything felt good. I was really snapping off the ball."
Black Hawk coach Curt Leuzinger thought he had a plan for his hitters, but Becker would throw wrenches into the mix of riseballs and changeups.
"That first pitch is usually a strike, and we have to tell our kids to swing," Leuzinger said. "If she gets ahead of you, she's pretty much got you. She's in control and she's going to make you swing at bad stuff. That's just how it is."
Becker sat down the first 10 hitters she faced, notching nine strikeouts in the stretch. An error by Juda third baseman Maddie Roth allowed Hannah Herbst to reach in the top of the fourth, but Becker mowed down the next two batters to escape the inning undamaged.
Offensively, Juda-Albany took advantage of some defensive miscues by Black Hawk. Hailey Kammerer walked to open the game and later scored. Hailey Freitag reached second on a booted ball by first baseman Cheyenne Stewart. Then freshman pitcher Bailey Butler was able to get out of the inning. In the second inning, Briana Crull led off with a single but moved around the bases and scored without the ball getting put into play by a batter.
"They came to play right away and we were a little lackadaisical," Leuzinger said. "We kept it close. We don't have those errors, it's possibly a tie here after seven."
Juda's last run came in the fifth, as Lydia Bouc reached on a single and moved up on an error by left fielder Mia Jackson. Kammerer came through with an RBI single moments later.
"We were able to put a couple hits together and manufacture a couple of runs," Juda-Albany coach Bill Davis said.
Butler was able to hold her own through much of the game, however. She finished with seven strikeouts, five hits and just two walks.
"I was relaxed. I just had to pitch strikes and let my team do their work," Butler said. "(Juda-Albany is) a good team, we just have to show up and play with them."
Becker had nothing but praise for her counterpart.
"The Butlers are really good. (Bailey) was throwing deceivingly hard. She's strong, and she's got a high fastball that caught a lot of us," Becker said.
At the dish, Crull was the only player with multiple hits.
"(Butler) is pretty good. She hit her spots and our strikeouts were up higher than they normally are," Davis said. "She threw a great game."
With one out in the seventh, Hannah Butler broke the no-hitter with a line drive ground rule double over the head of Kammerer in center field. She scored on a single by Natalie Leuzinger just a few pitches later.
Becker stifled the comeback attempt in short order, however, striking out Jackson and Stewart to end the game.
"It was like the momentum was changing, and then all of a sudden we just didn't have it all," Bailey Butler said.
With the win, Juda-Albany (13-2, 9-0) takes a two-game lead on Black Hawk (9-5, 7-2).
"This was a playoff-caliber type game. It was a pretty good win," Davis said, adding that the Six Rivers is deeper than perceived. "Black Hawk and Barneveld are very competitive. Then on the other side there's Highland, Belmont and Potosi. There's some good competition here in our conference."
The Panthers return to action Thursday at home against Belmont (14-3). Black Hawk hosts Darlington Friday.
