Angela Tincher’s No-Hitter

By Richard Diaz
Love of Sports Correspondent

Last night was an interesting one, from a television watching perspective.

I’ll start with American Idol, where fans saw Jason Castro totally ruin a Bob Marley classic, then go on to forget lines from a Bob Dylan song that karaoke fans across the country know.

Fans of Dancing with the Stars said goodbye to R&B singer Mario, but worse than that, also said goodbye to his partner, Karina Smirnoff.

Even political pundits got their groove on last night, by going back and forth for hours on end, before ultimately agreeing on something most of us already knew.

In addition to the ‘drama’ of scripted reality television, sports fans got to see the Celtics struggle to beat a Cleveland team that was, for all intents and purposes, without LeBron James. Then, if you were tuning into ESPN, you got to watch them jinx poor Gavin Floyd, who took a no-hitter into the ninth and lost it to a Joe Mauer double.

Yet with all of that happening around the same time, how is it that my attention was captivated by a game I saw over a month ago? How is it that a women’s softball exhibition from March took precedence over everything else that was going on?

Simply put, I couldn’t resist the temptation to watch Angela Tincher single handedly end a streak that had blown up to 185 consecutive victories. I couldn’t help but watch once more as, pitch after pitch, Tincher painted a portrait of perfection.

In case you’re still wondering what I’m talking about, it was a pre-Olympic exhibition softball game that took place back in March between Virginia Tech and Team USA. Mind you, the United States Women’s Softball team hadn’t lost a pre-Olympic exhibition in 12 years, which is an incredible feat. In fact, they had outscored their opponents 1,475 to 24 during that streak that started on May 3, 1996.

So, as the Summer Olympics draw nearer, let’s all give up some Love for Team USA and realize they’re so much more than just Jennie Finch. But I digress.

I’m taking this time to give some love to Angela Tincher, who faced the juggernauts of her sport and pitched a no-hitter on ‘em. Were it not for a walk in the second inning, it would’ve been that all-mystical perfect game. Phenomenal as they are, I can’t help but wonder if the U.S. National Team is having second thoughts about their decision to leave Tincher off the team after trying out last fall.

It’s worth mentioning that there’s more to Tincher than this one pitching masterpiece. She’s actually one of just three pitchers in NCAA history to reach 2,000 career strikeouts.

Before she became an NCAA pitching machine, Tincher had already developed a reputation for being an unhittable force. In addition to striking out over 590 batters in her high school career, she also pitched 17 no-hitters in just her final two high school seasons alone.

Even though she won’t be in the 2012 Olympics, she still dreams of making the U.S. National Team in the future, and she’ll be making her pro debut in the summer for the National Pro Fastpitch Akron Racers.

Still, before any of that, this outstanding pitcher’s focus is solely targeted on leading her team to this year’s Women’s College World Series. 

Although the game actually took place over a month ago, it was a pitching performance for the ages, and one the rest of the nation is just becoming privy to. I realize no-hitters are more common in softball than in baseball, but when you consider it took place against the best softball team in the world, how can you not show her the love she deserves?

So, here’s to Angela Tincher and the Virginia Tech Hokies for defeating a nearly unbeatable team while most of the sports world was caught up in March Madness.