Junior pitcher Kylie Reynolds had a strong performance throughout this weekend’s softball tournament, but she saved her best game for last.

Reynolds threw a no-hitter and struck out a school-record 18 batters to lead the Kent State softball team to a 1-0 extra-innings win over Stetson in the championship game of the Stetson Leadoff Classic in Deland, Fla.

Senior third baseman Kalie Germaine scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the deal for Kent State.

“The team did very, very well,” Germaine said. “Everybody came out and did their job when it was their turn. As a team, we were strong.”

The Flashes had won three of four games going into the championship game, beating Bethune-Cookman, splitting two games with Stetson and defeating Texas State.

In the opening game Friday against Bethune-Cookman, sophomore pitcher Markie Pozzuto had a strong start with 10 strikeouts. Reynolds relieved Pozzuto in the seventh inning and ended the game with three consecutive strikeouts.

“It was a fight throughout the whole game, but it was nice to pull through in the end,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds continued her run into the second game of the day against Stetson, striking out 15 batters and only allowing two hits the whole game.

The team won 1-0 after junior outfielder Leah Archual hit a single down the third-base line, allowing junior second-baseman Heather Duhon to score the winning run.

“I was really pleased with our mental frame of mind throughout the entire day,” Kent State coach Karen Linder said.

Saturday, the team pulled off a 1-0 win over Texas State. Duhon scored the winning run in the second inning after senior outfielder Katie Wheeler hit a single out to right field. The team then lost 8-0 to Stetson, setting up the championship game yesterday.

Next weekend, the team will travel to Arizona to face Arizona State, the defending national champions, and four other teams in the Littlewood Classic.

“I’m just looking forward to the competition,” Linder said. “It’s going to tell us where we’re at, and hopefully we’ll make some improvements with our approach at the plate offensively.”

Contact sports correspondent Megan Moore at [email protected].