With two outs in a two-strike count, Erin Nuwer surrendered a no-hitter.

Still, the true freshman powered through to deliver a career night in a 4-0 win over Western Carolina for Tennessee softball.

Nuwer shoved 12 strikeouts, allowing just one hit and walking none across a complete seven inning night. All of it was accomplished on an efficient 82 pitches.

“She was attacking the strike zone,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “And that’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time, and it’s common ebbs and flows, but I thought tonight she did a really good job of that.”

Western Carolina struggled to locate the base paths. Nuwer dealt all throughout the night. The first inning came with ease, sitting down the first three batters with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout.

“When you attack, you’re able to set the hitters up and work your different pitches the way you want to work them, instead of just looking for something that’ll be a strike,” Weekly said. “Her drop was working, her rise was working, her off-speed was working.”

That same trend continued throughout the ensuing innings. In fact, it got stronger as the frames progressed.

Nuwer struck out a pair in the second inning. She upped it by striking out the side in the third. Through the first four innings of play, a batter had not stood aboard the bases.

“When you know your pitcher is in control, that’s the big thing,” Weekly said. “You can just see it in their body language. You can see it in their eye contact. And that’s the message she sent everybody tonight was, ‘I got this just, let’s play defense.’”

Once the fifth rolled around, misfortune struck. Maya McPherson sent a roller to the right side of the infield was mishandled by Ella Dodge. It set the Catamounts up with their first baserunner of the game.

There was still no issues for Nuwer, however. She bounced back with two strikeouts and a groundout to end the threat and keep the rest of the bases clean.

“She can move the ball up and down, and it’s rare in this game that somebody can go up and down at an elite level, both directions, and then throwing off-speed with it,” Weekly said. “And I think she just does everything she does. She has the ability to do at an elite level when she trusts it.”

After controlling through the sixth inning and trotting back to the circle for the seventh, Nuwer set career-long outing.

Two strikeouts to begin the inning set Nuwer one out away from her second no-hitter this season. But that’s when danger arose. Setting up an 0-2 count to McPherson, the next pitch tracked off her foot to put a runner on base.

Then, the Catamounts followed with success to break the bid. A liner to the left side by Sydney Dirks trickled to the outfield and sat down for the first hit of the night. It was not enough to generate momentum as Nuwer induced a grounder to end the game.

“It felt good to go the whole game,” Nuwer said. “Kind of just start to end. But even if someone would have came in, I just know that everyone in the bullpen would have my back.”

Those are the kind of performances that Weekly expects, allowing confidence to exceed that expected of a true freshman.

“It’s growing all the time,” Weekly said. “She’s somebody I believed in immensely watching her in travel ball, and I was super excited to get her here. And I think it’s taken her a while to trust herself as much as I trust her. But I tell them all the time, for me, it’s just what you do on the field. You know, it really doesn’t matter whether I trust you or have confidence in you. If you have confidence in yourself, it’s going to show out there, and you’re going to get the results you need to get for our team.”

Efficiency was the key to success. Her 82 pitches rank third this season for an outing, but it was the longest she has gone. A 95-pitch outing in five innings against UConn and 90 pitches against Arkansas in 3.1 innings sit ahead in terms of work accounted for. But regardless of the sample sizes, Weekly expects the same mentality out of her pitchers.

“When they get the ball, it should be, ‘I’m going to go out there and I’m going to be the ace as long as I’m on this field,’” Weekly said. “What allows a pitcher to go seven is being efficient.”

Even without a large supporting cast at the plate, Nuwer used her performance to instill confidence in her batters. Being in control in the circle guided Tennessee hitters to post four hits, including a solo shot by Emma Clarke in the sixth inning.

“I think it helps them, especially like having as limited runs as possible, just knowing that even if they put up one or two runs, that I’m gonna just be the best I can for them,” Nuwer said. “So I think they always have confidence, but I think they have a lot of confidence.”

For Nuwer, it helps competing in a staff that ranks amongst the top in the country. Learning from SEC Pitcher of the Week Karlyn Pickens is a large reason for success.

“She has just such good energy,” Nuwer said. “So I try to take that off of from her, and whatever she tells me, I know I need to listen to her because she’s like one of the best pitchers ever. She’s such a great role model for me and I really look up to her.”

As the season continues to progress, the opportunities for Nuwer should as well. The freshman has recorded 12 appearances this season, posting nine starts. Her season ERA sits at 1.15 paired with a 5-1 record.

“I feel excited for what’s to come,” Nuwer said. “I feel confident and I’m just excited for where the rest of the season will take me.”