Justyce Porter Shuts Out Gannon as St. Cloud State Wins 1-0
St. Cloud Wins a Close One
If you tuned into this one expecting a slugfest, you came to the wrong game.
The St. Cloud State Huskies and the Gannon Golden Knights squared off Wednesday at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in a Space Coast Spring Games matchup that was all about pitching and defense. St. Cloud State came out on top 1-0 in a game where both sides struggled to get much going offensively. Sometimes you get a good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel where minimal runs are had, and this game was definitely that.
Gannon actually had their best look of the entire game in the first inning. With two outs, Jenna Clontz and Alli Novick put together back-to-back singles, and it felt like the Golden Knights might have some two-out magic brewing. But both runners were left stranded, and that was as close as Gannon got all day. Two runners on base was the high point for their offense, and it came in the opening frame.
Speaking of two-out magic, though, the Huskies found some of their own in the bottom of the second. After Josie Spano retired the first two batters, Kennedy Palmer laid down a bunt to the pitcher’s left side and beat it out for a single.
Then, on a 3-2 pitch, Kaylee Collins lined an RBI double that brought Palmer all the way around to score. Palmer has great speed, and once that ball got down, there was never a doubt she was coming in. That was all the offense St. Cloud State would need.
From there, Justyce Porter locked in. The Huskies’ pitcher threw a complete-game shutout, keeping Gannon off the board from start to finish.
On the other side, Spano was just as competitive in the circle for Gannon. She went six innings, gave up five hits and just the one run while striking out three and walking two. It was a tough-luck loss for Spano, who did her job and then some.
In a game like this, it takes both good pitching and good defense, and both were efficient and got the job done without issues. For St. Cloud, this win capped their second shutout of the day, as they defeated the Roosevelt Lakers 5-0 in the game before.
The Huskies look to have a strong pitching staff, and is a team that you have to be very opportunistic against. As for Justyce Porter, she improved to 6-2 on the season. In 10 appearances, she has only given up nine earned runs in 45.2 innings pitched.
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