The Justice

Media Credit: Hsiao-Chi Pang Pitcher Emily Vaillette '10 pitches during her no-hitter against Framingham State College last Thursday. Vaillette allowed just one walk in seven innings to lead the Judges to a 6-0 victory over the visiting Rams. The team is 13-9.

Normally, closing a week of six games with a walk-off victory in extra innings to sweep a doubleheader and extend a winning streak to five games would be the softball team's highlight of the week. But last Thursday against Framingham State College, pitcher Emily Vaillette '10 made history on the mound, tossing the Judges' first no-hitter since 2006 to lead the team to a 6-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader.

The no-hitter was the third of five straight wins for the Judges, who closed the week going 5-1 to improve their record to 13-9 on the season. They opened the week by splitting a doubleheader at Worcester Polytechnic Institute last Wednesday but then swept consecutive doubleheaders against Framingham State last Thursday and Bowdoin College last Sunday.

Vaillette's no-hitter was the school's first in a full seven-inning game and third overall since 2003. The team's last no-hitter came in the season opener of the 2006 season, when Kaitlin Streilein '08 no-hit Wheelock College in five innings. Briane Smith '06 threw the team's previous no-hitter against Newbury College in 2003.

Last Thursday, Vaillette said she tried not to think about the greater accomplishment of pitching a no-hitter while she was on the mound.

"I just kept pitching one pitch at a time, not thinking about the endpoint but just where I was at that moment," she said. "[I was] just focusing on that batter."

Vaillette faced 22 batters and carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before walking a batter, allowing the Rams to reach base for the first and only time in the game. Vaillette said her continuous work on her endurance and mental game helped her get through the entire game with the no-hitter.

"[The key] probably [was] just stamina and keeping [my] focus throughout the whole game, because it's hard to keep concentrating when you have something like [a no-hitter] going," she said.

Continued...

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