NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WTKR) — It's hard to top perfection. Christopher Newport senior Jamie Martin managed to accomplish that.
On Sunday, the pitcher turned in her second perfect game of her college career in an 8-0 win over Meredith. This time, however, Martin made sure the field would have a simple afternoon.
She struck out all 15 batters she faced in the five-inning affair.
"I got through the fourth inning, and the last batter was Meredith's best hitter," she remembered. "I got her on a 3-2 changeup, which never happens for me. I looked and I said, 'I'm getting king of close here.' Then we got an eight-run lead in fifth inning I thought, 'Oh my god, it might happen.'"
In an interesting twist of fate, her first perfect game also came against the Avenging Angles. She turned in her first one against Meredith last season, which was also a five-inning game where she struck out 13 of the 15 batters she faced.
"CNU Athletics posted an Instagram post about it, so I'll have athletes in the hallway who saw it and they go, 'You're the one who did that,'" Martin said. "It's an honor and it really speaks to the community we have here."
"I've seen some no-hitters here and some perfect games, but I've had some fellow college coaches reach out to say, 'I've never seen that,'" said CNU head coach Keith Parr. "I know personally I've never witnessed that."
Martin's resume is as stacked as they come in college softball. She's won a DIII national championship in 2022 and turned in two no-hitters along with the pair of perfect games.
For a player who has done just about all there is to do, being able to say she struck out every batter in a game she pitched just feels like icing on the cake.
"It's one of those feelings where it's just nice to have one of those big moments at the end," Martin said. "I can feel like every single thing I wanted to do in my college career, I've checked off. I've won a natty, I've pitched an all strikeout perfect game."
"I feel like I really accomplished something and it's something to be proud of."
CNU is 25-1 so far this season with a doubleheader at Randolph-Macon coming up on Friday.
