When Carson High's Daria Leid arrived for a post-game interview session, she was asked if she knew she had a no-hitter.
"I had no idea," the Senators' right-handed pitcher said. "I've had a couple in summer ball the last two years."
Leid, who struggled in her last start against South Tahoe, fanned 11 and allowed only five baserunners in the Senators' 9-0 nonleague win over Dayton Monday at Carson High School.
"I felt I could have done better," Leid said. "I did what I had to do to get the win. I worked on leg strength (between starts) to get more velocity, and I worked on my pitches to get more movement."
Leid was so dominant against the Dust Devils that not a single ball reached the outfield. The Dust Devils didn't come close to a hit all day and had just one baserunner get as far as third base.
"She threw a great game," said Carson coach Scott Vickrey, who didn't realize at first that Leid hadn't allowed a hit. "She had a rough outing the last time."
The effort by Leid certainly gives the Senators good momentum heading into today's game at home against Reed and the three-game series against Wooster.
"We have big games against Wooster," Vickrey said. "We need everybody at the top of their games."
Despite Leid's dominance in the circle, Carson only led 2-0 through four innings, scoring both runs in the third. That's because Melissa Coyle kept the Senators off balance with off-speed pitches. Leid said she was unfazed by the lack of offensive production.
"I had every bit of faith (in them)," Leid said. "I knew they would come along."
The explosion came in both the fifth and sixth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Senators gave Leid some breathing room.
Knorzer and Munoz opened the inning with singles. Up stepped powerful Cassie Vondrak, who was 0-for-2 and hadn't hit the ball hard. She found a gap in left-center field, driving home both runs to make it 4-0. Leid followed with a line drive to short, and Mariah Collins doubled Vondrak off second. Krista Mattice walked and Megan Hein followed with a single to left. Mattice was thrown out at third base on a close play.
Dayton sent Lindsie Cross to the mound in the sixth, and she was touched for five runs. Three came in on another double by Vondrak and two more scored on Leid's first homer of the season.
"I love hitting homers," Leid said. "I felt it right when it came off the bat."
Despite the lopsided game, Dayton coach Dusti Houk was upbeat.
"I'm happier with this loss (more than eight others) because we got beat," Houk said. "In our other losses we beat ourselves. I was pleased with our performance, especially defensively. We came out and played with heart."