Bulldogs' Donovan no-hits Wildcats in 10-0 win

CELINA - Melody Donovan didn't just baffle Minster batters from the pitching circle, she swung some heavy aluminum as well.

The Celina pitcher threw a no-hitter and drove in three runs, two on a home run, as the Bulldogs improved to 2-0 with a 10-0 win in six innings over the Wildcats at Eastview Park.

One of Donovan's goals was getting a no-hitter this season and she performed the task in strong fashion, walking just one batter and striking out five. Two errors provided for the only other Minster baserunners in the game.

"That was one of her main goals this year, her No. 1," Celina coach Nicole Driggs said of Donovan. "I was impressed with her composure against (Minster's) 1-5 batters (in the lineup). You can tell they're good hitters. ... I was happy to see (Donovan) keep her focus one pitch at a time. Can't ask for a better job than that. She had an awesome game. Proud of her."

"We didn't get off the bus ready to play today," Minster coach Scott Robinson said. "Not a good day for us. We're young, and you're going to have that if you're as young as we are. We'll take it with a grain of salt and move on."

Donovan provided the game-winning runs in the bottom of the second. Maria Donovan led off with a walk. Two groundouts back to Minster pitcher Rachel Wehrman later, Donovan knocked a Wehrman offering over the centerfield fence to open the scoring.

Insurance, and plenty of it, came in the third inning as Celina sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six runs. A pair of Minster errors resulted in five of the six runs being unearned. Melody Donovan added an RBI single, while Maria Donovan and Steph Walter added RBI singles of their own.

"That big inning was a team effort," Driggs said. "That's what I like to see. We haven't been outside on dirt (before the season) and didn't have a scrimmage. It was nice to see."

Wehrman made it through the fourth and fifth innings unscatched, but Carly Post started the bottom of the sixth by reaching on an error. Alexis Zacharias, hitless after hitting two home runs on Monday, collected her first hit with a single to center, with Post coming around to score on an error. Zacharias ended the game by stealing third and coming home on an errant throw.

"(Wehrman) shut us down for a couple of innings," Driggs said. "I was happy when we came out and closed it down in the sixth."

"I thought she pitched well," Robinson said of Wehrman. "She's going to be good for us this year. We just have to play defense. Last night we played good defense against a good team and didn't give up unearned runs. It's hard to do against a veteran team like Celina that can hit."

Both teams are back in action Thursday, Celina travels to Rockford to face 2-0 Parkway and Minster hosts Lincolnview at Four Seasons Park.