STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It is rare in baseball or softball to pitch a perfect game. That's when no opponent reaches base. There's no hit. There's no walk. There's no error. But what do you call it when it's even more perfect?
HOPE TRAUTWEIN: I guess it's never been done before, so it doesn't have a name (laughter).
NOEL KING, HOST:
Over the weekend, Hope Trautwein, a senior at North Texas University, made history.
TRAUTWEIN: So I pitched a perfect game with all outs being strikeouts.
KING: She pitched all seven innings - that's how many you do in softball - facing three batters per inning and struck out all 21 of them.
INSKEEP: Unbelievable. The final pitch of the final out was a swing and a miss.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Good (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Great job (unintelligible).
(CHEERING)
INSKEEP: The 3-0 win against Arkansas Pine Bluff is believed to be the first-ever Division I perfect game that ended with 21 strikeouts.
RODNEY DELONG: I don't really know what else to call it. Never seen anything like it, don't know if I ever will.
INSKEEP: Coach Rodney DeLong admits there was not that much for him to do in the dugout.
DELONG: Yeah, it was pretty easy. Sitting there watching her doesn't really put any pressure on her defense or anything. And they weren't even hardly fouling the ball off early (ph).
TRAUTWEIN: (Laughter) I guess my poor team just had to watch me throw over and over and over again every inning. So it might have been boring for them, but I guess they were excited in the end.
KING: As for what to call this feat, the coach has an idea.
DELONG: I mean, Hope did it, so maybe we can call it a Hope-a-dope. (Laughter).
INSKEEP: OK. That's not as perfect as the game, but still pretty perfect.
(SOUNDBITE OF RED SNAPPER'S "3 STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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