By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
On a clear, cold night Washington’s Charity Watson made everybody forget about chilly weather. Her heater melted the strike zone and froze the C.B. Aycock batters as she tossed a no-hit, shutout to lead the Pam Pack to a 5-0 victory in the team’s season opener on Wednesday.
Picking up where she left off last season, Watson dominated the Falcons, throwing a complete game while striking out 16 of the 22 batters she faced.
Watson looked rust-free on Wednesday, pitching like a well-oiled machine to cage the Falcons (0-1). C.B. Aycock’s Jasmine Dobbin was the only Falcon to reach base for the entire game, and that occured in the first inning.
Dobbin walked in the first inning, stole second, then reached third on a wild pitch and that was the closest the Falcons got to scoring.
After the Dobbin’s walk, Watson put it in cruise control and struck out the next six batters in a row to coast to victory.
Watson’s win was cemented in the bottom of the first inning by Pam Pack slugger Marisa Fucito, who ended the day going 2-4 with three RBIs.
The Pam Pack put up two runs in the first to give Watson a small cushion.
Falcons’ pitcher Julia Lancaster walked Washington leadoff batter Sam Mobley, then two batters later surrendered an RBI double to Fucito that gave Wasington a 1-0 lead.
Fucito would later score from third on a Lancaster wild pitch to put the Pack up 2-0.
Washington tacked on another run in the fourth when a Fucito hit into a fielder’s choice grounder to the left side of the infield that scored Davey Ann Burbage and made it a 3-0 game.
The Pack scored its final two runs in the sixth. With Meredith Duke on second and Taylor Rogers on first, Fucito blasted a shot toward left, center field that fell in for an RBI double.
The Falcons’ left fielder Heather Farmer and center fielder Dobbin each made a dash for the ball, but failed to call one another off on the play and collided in the outfield. Though they each took a hard shot, both stayed in the game.
After the game Pake praised Fucito.
The Pack will swing back into action on Tuesday when it hosts Northern Nash.
C.B. Aycock 000 000 0 — 0 0 2
Washington 200 102 x — 5 6 0
WP: Charity Watson; LP: Julia Lancaster
Hitters: W — Meredith Duke 2-3 (R), Marisa Fucito 2-4 (3B, 3 RBI), Kayla Spain 1-3 (RBI), Davey Ann Burbage 1-3 (R).