MURFREESBORO, Tn. – Bedford North Lawrence scripted a perfect opening day for the 2025 season.
Karsyn Coleman, a transfer newcomer, hurled a sensational perfect game in BNL’s first contest of the Southern Warrior Classic, and senior slugger Ava Ratliff crushed a go-ahead home run in the second game as the Stars won their first two on Thursday during their three-day trip to Murfreesboro.
Coleman shut down Wauconda (Ill.) in the first game as BNL cruised to an 8-0 victory. In the nightcap, Ratliff’s bomb triggered a four-run rally in the fifth, powering the Stars to a 5-2 triumph over Collierville (Tn.).
In the first game, Coleman made quite the impression in her first start since transferring from Mitchell. She struck out seven and needed only 69 pitches to record BNL’s first perfect game since Zoe Adams in 2017.
“I was thinking about it in the seventh inning,” Coleman said. “But I was nervous the whole game, because it was my first start for BNL. My defense had my back. They made plays all around.”
The Stars also generated plenty of offense. BNL struck in the second when Kendall Graves cracked a lead-off triple and scored on Macee Nicholson’s single to center. The Stars added two more in the third as Tori Nikirk clubbed a one-out home run to right, Ratliff ripped a two-out double, and pinch runner Sophia Jewell came home via two wild pitches.
BNL broke it open with a four-run fourth. Dalanie Davis and Coleman started the frame with singles, setting the stage for a two-run single by Jaden Schofield, a RBI single by Sara Williams, and a sacrifice fly by Ratliff. BNL capped the scoring with a RBI single by Coleman in the fifth.
Wauconda was forever in a hole as Coleman twirled from the circle.
“She hit spots well,” Gilbert said. “She had the ball working and got in a groove, felt really comfortable out there. She threw a lot of strikes, and we played good defense. It was a good defensive game and she pitched really well.”
BNL pounded out 13 hits, with Nikirk, Ratliff (two doubles), Graves, Nicholson and Coleman collecting two each.
“A lot of time the offense struggles early,” Gilbert said. “We had several girls hit the ball hard.”
In the second game, Colllierville took a 2-1 lead with a bases-loaded, two-out single in the fifth. But BNL answered immediately. Nikirk led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, and one out later Ratliff, a leading candidate for the Miss Softball award, added to her state record for career home runs with her first of the season.
“Obviously when you have No.12 up there, you have a shot,” Gilbert said.
BNL extended its lead after the Ratliff bomb. Graves cracked a double, Nicholson reached on an infield single, and Davis plated a run with a groundout. Coleman drove in the final run with a single to right.
The Stars had 12 hits, including two from Bella Warren (who drove in the first run), Williams, Ratliff, Graves and Nicholson. Coleman also earned the win in the second game with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
“I tell you what, it was pretty nice,” Gilbert said. “We played well against a pretty good team, then had a battle in the second game. That’s a quality team, and we played well. Both pitchers threw well. I was really played with the defense and the way we pitched. We will take that.”
On Friday, BNL will face East Peoria (Ill.), McNairy Central (Tn.) and Forrest (Tn.) in the second segment of its seven-game road trip. The Stars will finish with Coffee County (Tn.) and Lexington (Tn.) on Saturday.
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