SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind an eight-strikeout perfect game from freshman Maddi Rutan, EKU softball opens its 2024 season with a 9-0 shutout victory over Wofford College on Thursday night at the Wofford Invitational.
 
Rutan, a right-handed pitcher out of Columbus, Indiana, tossed EKU's second perfect game in program history going the complete way with eight K's.
 
On the offensive side, fellow freshman Kennedy Drafton went 3-for-3 in her EKU debut with one run, two RBIs, and a walk in her other at bat.
 
Rutan, Jeanay Riley, and Jaelin Haynes followed suit with multi-hit performances, while Reese Knox knocked in a team-high 3 runs in her collegiate debut.
 
Rutan notched one strikeout in each of the first four innings while holding the Terriers to no base runners.
 
EKU and Wofford played to a standstill until the top of the fifth, as the Colonels picked up their first run of the season from Bella Sanchez, who brought in Haynes off a sac-fly to shortstop.
 
The Colonels would find four additional runs off hits from Knox and Riley, bringing EKU to a 5-0 lead with just two innings left to play.
 
Redshirt-senior Vianna Barron and Rutan opened the sixth inning with singles driving in two runs, padding EKU's lead to 8-0.  Barron completed her way across the base path scoring off a wild pitch, ending the Colonels scoring bombardment, 9-0.
 
Rutan faced 18 batters on Thursday night, fanning eight, while forcing four batters into routine ground outs.  Her perfect game was the first by a Colonel since Jonelle Clark, who graduated as one of the program's all-time great hurlers.
 
EKU totaled 12 hits in Thursday's ball game by seven student-athletes in the starting lineup.
 
The Colonels continue the Wofford Invitational playing George Mason at 12:30 p.m. EST tomorrow.