Bella Duncan strikes out 18 in fifth no-hitter of the year, Morrison beats Bureau Valley for 10th straight win

MORRISON — After what she described as a “rocky” start to the season, Bella Duncan and Morrison are on a roll.

Opening the season with a 3-3 record, the Fillies have lost just once in the last month.

Duncan’s pitching and a balanced offense are a big reason why.

Duncan threw her fifth no-hitter of the season in a 9-0 nonconference win over Bureau Valley on Friday as Morrison (15-4) won its 10th straight game.

Duncan kept the pressure on as she struck out 18 and walked none. She flirted with her third perfect game, but BV (13-15) reached once due to an error, and Sadie Bailey reached twice on catcher interference calls.

Kiyah Wolber and Allie Anderson each had two RBIs and Bella Scachette had three of Morrison’s 12 hits in the win.

“Having 10 wins in a row for us is absolutely huge,” Duncan said. “We’ve just been doing so well. I can’t ask for anything better.”

Committed to play softball at Western Michigan, Duncan was recruited to the school for her hitting.

She entered the game batting a team-best .561, but the Fillies don’t need to rely on her bat. There is more balance on offense this year compared to previous years.

Seven different girls had hits and scored runs for Morrison in the win over the Storm. Anderson, Madi Armitage and Bella’s younger sister, Ava, all had doubles.

“We’ve finally found a way to have hit after hit and really get those runs each inning,” Bella said. “It’s big for us that we’re scoring a run each inning usually. That’s something that we haven’t been doing this whole year until recently, and it’s made a huge difference in our 10 wins in a row.”

The second and fifth innings were the big ones for Morrison on Friday as they scored four times in each frame.

While dominating the game, Morrison had fun doing so. Team chants, jokes in the dugout and hyping each other up happened frequently.

“It’s made a big difference for us when we all realized that the whole point of this game is to have fun,” Bella said. “We’ve been playing better. I would say that’s like the root of our wins right now, is us having fun.”

Duncan said her main strengths in the circle are her rise ball as she attacks hitters.

“Once I get going, I don’t like to stop,” she said. “I’m a very fast-fasted pitcher. I like to get in there, get things done and get out.”

BV coach David Shepard said that was a challenge for his hitters as they try to escape an offensive funk while playing some tough teams. They were also shut out twice against 21-3 Biggsville West Central.

“She likes to work fast,” Shepard said of Duncan. “If you’re not prepared for that, it can take you off guard. I kept telling our girls, you need to slow her down. And she threw nothing but strikes and she would climb the ladder.

“She pitched really well.”

The Fillies are a No. 1 seed at the Class 2A Princeton Regional, opening their postseason on May 20.

Up next is a big NUIC matchup with Milledgeville on Tuesday.

Duncan said continuing to have success all comes back to having fun and staying calm.

“That’s when we start struggles,” she said, “when we stop having fun.”

Morrison coach Chelsea Eads says that stands out on the team.

“That’s what I love about them,” she said. “That’s the whole point we play softball, to have fun. I always tell them there’s no point in being here if you’re not having fun. ... We owe everything that we have to the game. It’s given us so much, so it’s important to have fun.”

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Morrison pitcher Bella Duncan pitches against Bureau Valley. The Bureau Valley Storm traveled to Morrison for a game against the Fillies on Friday, May 9th, 2025. (Brian Hurley)