When Stephanie Start gathered with her teammates for a postgame meeting Tuesday, she got some good news from Smith Vocational softball coach Nelson Lacey.

Lacey informed his senior pitcher that she threw a no-hitter for the Vikings in a 22-1 five-inning win over Sci-Tech, Tuesday in Springfield.

“I had no clue,” Start said. “I just concentrated and my whole team helped me out.”

Start struck out nine and walked four batters. The run for Sci-Tech came on a sacrifice.

It was her first no-hitter for the Vikings (7-5, 7-1 Tri-County).

“My teammates were really happy for me,” Start said. “It was really good to be able to do that.”

Start said she hopes the momentum the team has can carry on into the playoffs.

Samantha Von Haugg went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs.

Tiana Rivera added two hits and two RBIs for the Vikings.

Maddisin Atikinson went 4-for-5 with two RBIs.

During the winter season, Start became the first girls basketball player at Smith Vocational to surpass 1,000 career points. She had multiple triple-doubles during her career.

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