DIVISION III SOFTBALL: Wilkin’s no-hitter sends Lynx by Battle Mountain

Lincoln County pitcher Aspen Wilkin barely missed out on a perfect game on Thursday.

She did, however, walk away with a no-hitter.

Wilkin tossed a five-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the Lynx to a 13-0 win over Battle Mountain in the Division III state tournament at The Meadows.

“Aspen pitched a tremendous game,” Lincoln County coach Pat Kelley said. “She is our only senior and she is our leader. We go as she goes.”

Wilkin retired the first 10 batters of the game Thursday before an error in the fourth inning broke up her perfect-game bid and allowed the Longhorns their only base runner of the day.

Wilkin also finished 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs at the plate for Lincoln County (24-7), which will face Yerington (22-11) in the winners’ bracket final at 2 p.m. Friday at The Meadows.

The Lynx provided plenty of offense, as they exploded for four runs in the bottom of the first inning and never let up.

Alisha Rowe started off the fourth inning with a single, followed by a single by Kia Phillips. Easton Tingey singled to drive in Rowe, and Wilkin followed with an RBI single. Chesnee Harding capped the inning with a two-run homer.

Harding finished 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs, and Cameron Lloyd added a three-run homer for the Lynx, who also got a home run from Josie Burgess and a double from Hannah Lytle.

“We’ve got some kids who are really hitting the ball,” Kelley said. “We just have to keep playing like we are playing — hitting the ball the way we’ve been hitting, pitching the way we’ve been pitching and playing the ball when they hit it. We have to play every pitch and every out.”

Despite the error that cost Wilkin a perfect game, Lincoln County’s defense made a few spectacular plays in the field. In the third inning, Lloyd made a diving catch to rob Battle Mountain’s Ashley Haney of a sure hit.

“Cam is awesome,” Kelley said. “She is just a sophomore. She covers a lot of ground out there, and she has a lot of potential.”

Wilkin also was appreciative of her defense.

“They are outstanding,” she said. “The outfield is very good, and our infield is very strong. We don’t really have a weak spot. We are really good when we work together.”

Yerington 7, White Pine 6 – Sarah Sam’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in the winning run as the Lions rallied to down the Bobcats in the second game of the day.

White Pine (15-8) will face Battle Mountain (18-12-1) in an elimination game Friday at noon at The Meadows.

The Bobcats, who took a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Kadi Finicum, couldn’t hold on in the bottom half of the inning.

Yerington’s Deseree Landa started the inning with a walk and eventually scored the tying run after three consecutive singles. After a pop out, Sam then broke the tie with a high chopper that skipped off the glove of pitcher Britney Kingston.

Macaella Martinez went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer to lead Yerington.

Jane Murdock was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, and Debra Kingston had a home run and two RBIs for White Pine.