BOSTON – Payton Sylvester was near perfect inside the circle as she fired a no-hitter in the closer of Sunday's GNAC softball doubleheader at Simmons, while her sister, Delaney Sylvester became the Rams' all-time hit leader behind a two-RBI double, as Suffolk softball blanked the Sharks, 14-0, at Daly Field.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 14, Simmons 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (29-7, 22-2 GNAC) | Simmons (21-17, 15-8 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Payton Sylvester retired the first 13 hitters she faced before finally allowing a baserunner on a walk. The rookie sat down the final out with a punchout, one of her five of the game in 5.0 innings work needing just 62 pitches for the complete-game effort.
The freshman righthander also supplied the offense as she was 2-for-3 at the plate, with a pair of runs scored and two RBI as Suffolk extended its win streak to 10 games.
Offensively, Delaney Sylvester kept Ram Nation on the edge of its seat as the senior catcher waited until her fourth at bat to rewrite Suffolk's record books. She entered the game tied with Jess Ferreira with 227 career hits and needed just one more to seal her spot on the top. After a pop up, ground out and fielder's choice in her first three visits to the plate, Delaney Sylvester rocked a double to center field in the top of the fifth to seal her history setting fate.
Suffolk opened the scoring on a wild pitch in the first frame before stretching the deficit to 5-0 thanks to a four-run second stanza. A scoreless third was followed by a seven-run fourth, before Delaney Sylvester's record setting hit in the fifth plated two runs for the final 14-0 margin.
PITCHERS PICTURE
- Payton Sylvester's no-hit, one-walk, five-strikeout performance moved the rookie to 9-3 in the circle this season.
- Four different twirlers worked the rubber for the Sharks. Starter Alex Soqui suffered the setback after giving up five runs, one earned, on two hits and one walk through the first 2.0 innings.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- To add to the Sylvester sisters performances, Grace Boehler went 2-for-2 at the dish with two RBI and two runs scored.
- Ashley Zulla's lone hit on the day was good for three bases.
- Hailey Cockroft went 1-for-1 at the dish as a pinch hitter in the fifth.
NOTEWORTHY
- The Rams' 22-2 GNAC record is the best in Suffolk softball history, upstaging the previously held record of 21-3 set in 2006.
- Suffolk won the GNAC Regular season for the first time since 2016 and third-time overall, all of which came in the Jaclyn Davis era.
- Delaney Sylvester became the all-time hit leader at Suffolk, surpassing Suffolk Hall of Famer Jess Ferreira (227) with her 228th career hit.
- Payton Sylvester threw the first known no-hitter in Suffolk softball history.
- Suffolk swept Simmons for the third consecutive season to extend its win streak versus the Sharks to six and improve to 28-20 all-time in the series.
POST-GAME PIC
COMING UP
As the 2018 GNAC regular season champion, Suffolk awaits the official seeding of the 2018 GNAC Tournament. The Rams, who have a first-round bye as the top seed, will host the second round in Eastie Thursday, May 4. Suffolk will take the field against a to-be-determined opponent at 6 p.m., after a neutral game will be played at East Boston Memorial Park at 4 p.m.