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North Texas softball pitcher Hope Trautwein has 21-strikeout perfect game

North Texas pitcher Hope Trautwein became the first player in Division I softball history to pitch a seven-inning perfect game with all 21 outs coming via strikeout in a win Sunday in Pine Bluff, Ark.  Photo by North Texas Athletics
North Texas pitcher Hope Trautwein became the first player in Division I softball history to pitch a seven-inning perfect game with all 21 outs coming via strikeout in a win Sunday in Pine Bluff, Ark.  Photo by North Texas Athletics

April 12 (UPI) -- Senior pitcher Hope Trautwein achieved a perfect game in the most-pristine fashion possible with 21 strikeouts for the North Texas softball team in a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Trautwein's dominant performance came in a 3-0 victory Sunday in Pine Bluff, Ark. The Mean Green also won the second game of the doubleheader 5-2 over the Golden Lions.

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"That was a great performance by Hope," Mean Green coach Rodney DeLong told MeanGreenSports.com. "Any time she gets the ball, she never surprises us with the success she has.

"She's the hardest worker on our team, she brings it every day and she deserves all the credit and all the success in the world."

Trautwein is the first softball pitcher in Division I history to throw a seven-inning perfect game by retiring all 21 hitters via strikeout.

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She logged two previous no-hit performances in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Trautwein also had two previous games in which she had 21 strikeouts.

The Pflugerville, Texas, native is the first pitcher in school history and second pitcher in Conference USA history to record a perfect game.

Sophomore shortstop Candain Callahan gave the Mean Green the lead with a two-run single in the fourth inning Sunday in Pine Bluff. Freshman left fielder Lexi Cobb brought in the third run with an RBI groundout.

The NCAA lists two softball pitchers with 21-strikeout performances in seven-inning games, but neither of those players had perfect games.

Former Northwestern pitcher Eileen Canney and former Baylor pitcher Cristin Vitek share the Division I record for strikeouts in a game with 28. Canney had 28 strikeouts in 18 innings against Minnesota in 2007. Vitek had 28 strikeouts in 17 innings against North Carolina in 2004.

The Mean Green go for the series sweep of the Golden Lions at 1 p.m. EDT Monday in Pine Bluff.

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