RUSSELLVILLE — "Go Cinderella."
Those lyrics echoed across Langston Field as Ouachita sophomore Catie Amador strolled to the circle for the seventh inning, carrying the weight of an unspoken rule just three outs away from history. Don't mention it, she's rolling. The infield assembled to the circle as her walk-out song, "Fancy" by Drake, blared out the speaker ahead of the final frame.
"I think whenever I heard it in the seventh inning, I was like, 'dang, I'm in a good mood'," Amador said. "Hearing it just makes me feel like I'm feeling myself. Look good, play good. When it says 'nails done, hair done,' I'm just like, yep everything's right. It just gets me going."
A dominant performance in the series finale defined her sophomore season as Amador was named the Great American Conference Pitcher of the Week, announced by the league on Tuesday. Amador pitched her first career no-hitter, throwing eight strikeouts while allowing just one walk as the Tigers took the rubber match over Northwestern Oklahoma State 7-0. Her immaculate performance became the sixth no-hitter in program history and the first thrown in seven years.
Most no-no's involve a defensive gem, so a diving catch from redshirt-senior second baseman Remington Adams was a fortunate sign to start the game. Amador needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order. The next step to ensure a starter reaches flow state is early run support. Junior slugger Emily Reed gave the Tigers breathing room with a lavish two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, which was her 15th of the season. Amador was nearly untouchable from there. Just 20 minutes after Reed's two-run jack gave the Tigers a two-run cushion, Amador was already through the Rangers lineup rolling into the fourth inning. She had fully settled into a rhythm, mixing speeds and switching locations with precision.
On three consecutive pitches to start the fourth, Amador elevated a rise ball for a swing and miss, then froze the hitter with a perfectly placed drop ball on the corner, then forced the Rangers leadoff hitter to whiff on another fastball to retire the tenth hitter in a row. The next batter followed a similar script as Amador forced consecutive late whiffs for the punchout. Good morning. Good afternoon. Goodnight.
"In the fourth inning, I realized they haven't gotten a hit yet," Amador said. "I just told myself, don't think about it. Just get the next batter. I was kind of rolling, so I was confident, calm and feeling good"
As Ouachita Coach Jeff Jackson sat dialing up pitch calls, Amador changed levels, painted both corners and mowed down another Ranger to strike out the side. Seven whiffs on 13 pitches.
Oh you fancy, huh? Cinderella was rolling.
"When I'm calling a spot on a pitch and she's hitting every single spot, even when I call for a ball off the plate, I just know good things are happening," Coach Jackson said. "Her ball just spins and moves so well."
Typically reliant on her drop ball to keep hitters off-balance, Amador found a different weapon working, her screwball. She carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before issuing a leadoff walk after a nine-pitch battle. The only base runner allowed in her outing. She responded by retiring the next three hitters, capped by her fifth strikeout on another rising fastball to force another whiff and escape through the sixth without allowing a hit.
"During that game, I turned to my screwball and it was moving up, and I was having a lot of success with that," she said. "So we just stuck with that because it was working really well."
Amador struck out the leadoff hitter on four pitches to begin the seventh, blowing two more fastballs past the hitter for whiffs. On her 99th pitch, a pinch-hitter lifted a deep fly ball to left field that briefly threatened the moment, but Reed tracked it down just three yards inside the park to bring the Rangers to their final out. Amador attacked to even the count with a fastball for a whiff, then caught the inside corner to bring the Rangers down to their final strike. On pitch No. 105, she zipped a fastball for another swing and miss, officially becoming the third pitcher in program history to throw a no-hitter.
Over her last 10 outings, Amador owns a 1.11 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 69.1 innings. She lowered her season ERA to 2.57, while her 1.17 WHIP ranks third in the league.
"Last year gave me experience," Amador said. "Now, whoever we're facing, it doesn't phase me. It's just a new batter and I'm going to get them out."
Much like her masterpiece in the circle, the music faded so she could rise to the moment.
