Mecham Fires No-Hitter, Offense Posts Record-Setting Outburst as Softball Sweeps Brooklyn to Improve to 8-1

BROOKLYN, N.Y. —  The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team combined to score 44 runs while the pitching allowed just one hit over a dominant road doubleheader sweep of their borough rivals Brooklyn College (0-2), 18-0 and 26-0, on Monday evening to extend their win streak to seven games.

Jessica Mecham (West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills) flirted with a perfect game and fired a no-hitter in game one, while Brianna Kilimet (Valley Stream, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) tossed a one-hit shutout in game two.

Autumn Poppett (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) and Nicole Trani (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) both highlighted the offensive outburst with home runs. Bella Hurtado (San Diego, Calif./Olympian) and Lauren Van Der Kamp (Sacramento, Calif./Rosemont) both drove in five runs each on the evening.

Game 1: St. Joseph's 18, Brooklyn 0 (5 inn)

After a scoreless first, the Bears posted four in the second before erupting for nine in the third. Van Der Kamp opened the scoring with a bases-clearing, three-run double —  the first of three run-scoring doubles in the inning, followed by Trani and Sofia Logreco (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills).

Poppett led off the fourth with a solo blast for her first collegiate dinger as the Bears tacked on five more runs in the final two innings.

After issuing a walk to the first Bulldog she faced, Mecham was flawless the rest of the way as she tossed her first collegiate no-hitter. The senior struck out the side in the second and fifth innings, finishing with a career-high 10 Ks with only one ball hit out of the infield for a flyout. She picked up her first win of the season and leveled her record at 1-1.

Van Der Kamp finished with four RBI in a 1-for-2 effort and scored a run. Logreco and Maeve McKeon (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) both recorded multi-hit games knocking two hits each with a double and stolen base. Hurtado collected three RBI.

Game 2: St. Joseph's 26, Brooklyn 0 (5 inn)

The Bears scored multiple runs in every frame, building an 11-0 lead through three before tacking on six in the fourth, and hanging nine in the fifth. The offensive outburst set new program records for runs in a game, largest margin of victory, and doubles (10)

Bella Gomez (Whittier, Calif/Sonora), Van Der Kamp, Hurtado, and Alexis Buchanan (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) each belted doubles in the five-hit, five-run second. Trani's one-out, solo shot highlighted a four-run third. Tayler Faraguna (San Diego, Calif./San Pasqual), Poppett, Gomez, McKeon, and Kristin Oddo (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) produced run-scoring doubles in the fourth and fifth innings.

In the circle, Kilimet surrendered her lone base hit in the first and scattered walks in the second, fourth, and fifth frames. The Bulldogs saw their closest chance to score all evening in the second advancing a runner to third before she shut the door with a strikeout—one of her career-high 10. Kilimet recorded her first collegiate shutout and improved to 2-0 with her second complete-game victory.

SJC strung together 21 hits with 11 going for extra bases— Gomez and McKeon leading the way with two doubles each. Twelve different Bears recorded a hit and 11 recorded an RBI. Poppett finished with a team-high three RBI in a 2-for-2 effort. Hurtado and Vivian Tomovich (San Diego, Calif./Serra) both knocked three hits each. Gomez, Van Der Kamp and Tomovich each scored four runs.

The Bear Facts

• Mecham's no-hitter is the 21st all-time and the first since Victoria Mahoney '19 tossed a six-inning no-hitter against Yeshiva in 2019.
• The 26 runs scored eclipsed 24 runs scored three times — against Baruch in 2002 and 2004 and Medgar Evers in 2007.
• The previous largest margin of victory was 20 runs, set four times previously, and last against Brooklyn College in a 20-0 triumph in 2019. 
• At 8-1 overall, SJC is on their best start in the program's NCAA era and best since the 2004 season that started 14-0.

Next Up

The Bears look to extend their streak making the first of two trips to the Garden State later this week and travel to Drew University on Thursday, March 24 for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com/live