She Just Did What No Pitcher Has Done

Pitching a no-hitter is hard. Pitching a perfect game is harder. Pitching a perfect game by striking out every player? Well, it's unprecedented at college's top level—at least until now. North Texas softball pitcher Hope Trautwein achieved the feat last weekend against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, reports the Dallas Morning News. She faced 21 batters and whiffed them all. (You can watch the final pitch here.) In fact, Trautwein never even reached three balls in a count. A post at NCAA.com says it is believed to be the first 21-strikeout perfect game in Division I history.

"I guess it's never been done before so it doesn't have a name," says Trautwein, per NPR. Of the 21 batters, 17 of them struck out swinging, including the first 10 of the game. “I actually didn’t really realize what was happening, what kind of game this would become,” the senior tells the Washington Post. “At the end of the game, I was just like, ‘Phew, OK, another win, on to another game’ because we had a doubleheader. As for what to call the accomplishment, coach Rodney DeLong has a suggestion: a "Hope-a-Dope." (More perfect game stories.)