COLUMBUS, Ga. — The University of South Carolina Beaufort softball team used another dominant pitching performance from Kristy Cook to win its pool before dropping its opening game in bracket play Saturday at the NFCA NAIA Leadoff Challenge at South Commons Softball Complex.

Cook tossed her seventh career no-hitter as USCB blanked Campbellsville (Ky.) 3-0 to win the pool and advance to the Gold bracket, where the 24th-ranked Sand Sharks lost 6-1 to No. 7 LSU Alexandria. USCB will face Sun Conference rival Thomas at 9 a.m. Sunday in the consolation round of the Gold bracket.

Coming off a one-hitter in USCB's victory over Lindenwood-Belleville on Friday, Cook was even better on the second day of the tournament. She struck out eight and allowed two walks, retiring the final nine batters of the game as she improved to 5-0 and lowered her ERA to 0.47.

USCB (8-2) struck early, scoring on Shelby Zipperer's RBI single in the first and adding an unearned run with the help of a Tigers error in the second. Sam Boland's pinch-hit RBI double in the sixth capped the scoring. 

It appeared as though Ashlie Layman might duplicate Cook's feat in the second game of the day, as she held LSUA hitless through five innings and preserved a scoreless tie with back-to-back strikeouts to strand two runners in scoring position in the fourth. 

Maddie Byrd's blast to center field leading off the fifth broke the stalemate, but the Generals solved Layman in the sixth. Leadoff hitter Brooke Thomas reached on an infield single for LSUA's first hit to start the inning before Kaylee Prather beat out a bunt and Taylor Simon followed with a three-run blast to right-center. Kelsey Hollier added a three-run shot to left-center later in the inning and the Sand Sharks were retired in order in the final two frames.