Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Melissa O'Connor '14 dazzled in the circle in the season opener for the Swarthmore softball team as the Garnet (1-0) shut out Mitchell 12-0 on Saturday.

In a performance where "dominant" would be a vicious understatement, O'Connor took a no-hit bid into the sixth and struck out 18 batters to set a Swarthmore program record and tie Lauren Davis-Macedonia (Ursinus '10) for the second –highest single game total in Centennial history. 

Commanding the strike zone on both sides of the plate, O'Connor allowed single walks in the first and fifth and surrendered a clean line-drive single to center with one out in the sixth to face just three above the minimum.  The first ten outs the junior recorded were all via strikes.

The Swarthmore offense, which finished 2012 with a .309 team batting average, put the Garnet in front in the top of the first and kept pace with O'Connor by pounding out 12 hits and the dozen runs against the Mariners. 

Sam Bennett '13 opened the season with a walk and immediately stole second base.  Two outs later, classmate Danielle Seltzer '13 doubled up the left-center alley for the first run of the year. 

It would be the fourth before the Garnet would score again as they plated three runs on only a single hit.  Rose Pitkin '14 and Emma Madarasz '15 reached on errors sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt to put runners on the corners.  After Madarasz stole second, Clara Obstfeld picked up her first collegiate hit with a single to center to score Pitkin.  With the next batter Laurie Sellars '15 at the plate, a routine throw back to the mound bounced away allowing Madarasz to scamper home. 

The third run of the inning scored on a brilliant hustle-play by Bennett.  Sellars walked before Bennett grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out with Sellars advancing to second.  The next batter Jesslyn Lammerts '14 hit a routine grounder to second but Bennett beat the short flip to second and Sellars, who never stopped rounding third, came in to score for the 4-0 lead.

Three more runs crossed in the fifth as the Garnet loaded the bases with one out on a single by Seltzer, rope of a double from Suness Jones '16 to left-center, and walk to Madarasz.  Obstfeld grounded into a fielder's choice to third for one RBI and Sellars followed with a RBI-single to left after Madarasz and Obstfeld stole third and second respectively.

The final five runs came in the seventh with the bottom third of the lineup starting the barrage.  Madarasz and Obstfeld singled and pinch-hitter Chelsea Matzko rolled a double to the right-center wall to score one.  Two outs later, a single from Nicole Aaron '14 brought in two more for a 10-0 advantage, Seltzer launched her second double of the game to score Aaron, and Pitkin followed with a double of her own to right center to bring in the final run. 

Swarthmore returns to the diamond on Sunday against Waldorf on the second day of the Snowbird Tournament.