ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Sophomore pitcher Kayla Jackson threw a perfect game in an 8-0 win over Henderson State on Sunday to clinch the 2010 Gulf South Conference-West Division Championship and give Head Coach Alvy Early his 500th career win. The Cotton Blossoms won the second
game 5-3.
 
Jackson’s perfect game is the ninth in school history and first since 2005. It is her second no-hitter of this season and third of her career. The win gave UAM its seventh GSC-West title and moved Early into a group of only three coaches to have won at least 500 games in the GSC.
 
Jackson retired 15 consecutive batters in the win, none of which by strikeout. She induced 11 groundouts and four fly outs throughout five innings. With the win, she improved her record to 23-5, matching her 2009 win total and moving her into a tie for third place all-time in the UAM record book with 46 career wins.
 
The Cotton Blossoms (44-9, 21-5 GSC) began their scoring on a two-run homerun by junior Sarah Hayslip in the top of the first, and rallied for four runs in the second, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by senior Becca Tipton. Hayslip followed with her third RBI of the game on a double to score Tipton.
 
UAM extended its lead in third on an RBI single by sophomore Meagan Wilson and broke the mercy-rule barrier in the top of the fifth with a solo homerun by sophomore Jennifer Hickman.
 
In the second game, the Cotton Blossoms took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a two-run homerun by Hayslip, her second of the day and 14th of the season. Hickman was responsible for the other run with an RBI single later in the inning.
 
The Lady Reddies (23-24, 12-14 GSC) sent the game into an extra frame with a pair of homeruns in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ashley Ray smashed a solo shot to start the rally, followed later by a two-run blast by Amber Wilburn.
 
In the top of the eighth, Tipton became the hero with a two-run homerun to give her team its final lead of the contest. Sophomore reliever Randa Perry (3-2) struck out two of the three HSU batters in the bottom of the eighth to earn the win after allowing only two hits and striking out six of the 10 batters she faced.
 
The 23rd-ranked Cotton Blossoms conclude the regular season next weekend with a four-game series on the road against Arkansas Tech, starting Saturday, April 24 with a double-header at 1 p.m. at the Chartwell’s Sports Complex on the ATU campus in Russellville.