Lisa Dey usually points out areas where her team can improve after each game.
The Jefferson City head coach didn't have much to critique following the Lady Jays' season opener.
Krista Brickey threw a no-hitter, Brooke Rozier connected on a two-run home run and Jefferson City tallied 11 hits en route to a 10-0 win Tuesday in five innings against Lebanon at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
"I thought our execution was great," Dey said. "We played a solid ballgame all around."
Brickey retired the first 10 batters she faced before allowing a one-out walk in the top of the fourth - the only thing keeping her from throwing a perfect game.
That didn't matter.
The right-hander only needed just 15 pitches to record the last five outs and earn the complete-game victory. Brickey, who won 16 games and posted a 1.31 ERA as a junior last season, threw 62 pitches - 41 for strikes - and struck out four in her season debut.
"I thought we played really strong together," Brickey said. "We have a really tight connection and we have a good chemistry. I feel like we work really well together. I was hoping it would end up this way and it did."
Rozier drove in three runs, while Katie Tambke, Alyssa Schulte and Taylor Dey each had two hits and one RBI for Jefferson City.
Hannah Hirschvogel added an RBI single, Darby Brundage had a double, and Emily Williams drove in a run to help the Lady Jays.
"We had some nice shots all the way through," Lisa Dey said. "We just need to keep that up. It's nice to see it up and down the lineup."
Tambke led off the bottom of the first with a single and Lebanon (0-1) misplayed a bunt by Schulte, putting runners at second and third for Jefferson City. Williams and Rozier followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies to give the Lady Jays a 2-0 lead.
They didn't look back from there.
"It was definitely a game-changer," Rozier said. "You never know what would have happened if you hadn't scored the two runs there. The outcome of the game could have been a lot different."
Jefferson City added two more runs in the third. Schulte led off the inning with a standup double and Rozier laced a first-pitch fastball over the left-field fence to give the Lady Jays a 4-0 cushion.
"That makes it so much easier on you as a pitcher," Brickey said. "There's not that much pressure on you when you have a lead."
Brickey drew a walk to lead off the fourth and Brundage reached on an error, setting up back-to-back RBI singles by Tambke and Schulte. Dey and Hirschvogel added RBI singles in the frame to cap off the six-run inning for the Lady Jays.
Lebanon committed three errors in the contest - two in the bottom of the fourth.
"I think that once one person on the teams starts hitting, the whole team gets excited," said Rozier, who drew a four-pitch walk in the fourth. "It's definitely contagious."
Jefferson City and Lebanon could meet again when district play starts in October.
"They're a district opponent, and I told the girls before the game, "You guys need to make a statement because down the road when we have to vote (for seeds), this game will come up head-to-head, so go out and make it count,'" Dey said.
Added Rozier: "We were definitely trying to come out and prove something. It's a completely different district than we're used to, so we have to make a good first impression."