San Jose City's Walker finds groove, tosses no-hitter

SAN JOSE - When a softball pitcher only needs 66 pitches to get through six innings, you know that something must be going right.

For San Jose City's Liberty Walker, last Friday's win was more than right – it was almost perfect.

Walker tossed her first collegiate no-hitter, striking out five in a 9-0 win over Chabot College was ended after six innings due to the run rule. She only faced 19 hitters (one over the minimum), walking one, with 44 of her 66 pitches going for strikes.

"Liberty was confident in the circle and had command of her pitches throughout the game," head coach Debbie Rooney said.

Walker worked the corners of the plate and mixed up speeds in tandem with catcher Dre Martinez. She credited her battery mate – and the rest of her squad - for the assistance in the accomplishment.

"Big shout out to my catcher behind the plate, Dre," Walker said. "She was such a big help behind the plate and constantly motivated me to keep pushing on the mound. My amazing defense that always had my back and made great plays all around.

"Another big thank you to my pitching coach, Coach Chuck (Caldera). Every day he continues to work with me on building my craft and always pushes me to be the best pitcher that I can. This no-hitter wouldn't have been possible without my amazing teammates and coaching staff."

The win completed a doubleheader sweep for the Jaguars, who beat Chabot 11-2 in five innings in Game 1. San Jose City is now 5-0 on the season, and 3-0 in conference play.

(Bill Norris, San Bernardino Valley Conference)