Marah Hulke pitched a complete game, struck out 12 and didn’t issue a walk in her one-hit victory.

After the win, Hulke said that the game was a good experience for her and her teammates heading into the final weeks of the season.

“I think it was good to get a game like this,” Hulke said. “Sections are coming up in, like, two weeks, so to play better teams, pitch against better teams, use all my pitches and going out there and pitching every game like it could be my last — once you get to sections, that’s the mindset you have to have. So just going out there and pitching hard, it’ll go well.”

Lacey Mathiowetz pitched a one-hit complete game also but took the loss after giving up two unearned runs. She struck out 11 while walking one and hitting a batter.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Nicollet’s Marah Hulke pitches during a home softball game with Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Friday. She gave up one hit in a 2-0 win.

Both pitchers struck out the side in the first inning, and the Raiders got the first baserunner of the game on in the second after Leah Bode reached on an error. Leah Bode was also the one to break up Mathiowetz’s no-hitter in the sixth inning on a single to center field.

The error that allowed Leah Bode to reach in the second didn’t come back to hurt the Knights, but errors in the bottom of the third did. After a dropped popup in the infield allowed Sam Kettner to reach with no outs, Mathiowetz got a little too inside with a pitch against Brooklyn Bode and hit her to put two on with no outs.

A passed ball allowed both runners to advance a base before a groundout by Tori Adams scored Kettner from third and put the Raiders on the board. A throwing error from third to home allowed Morgan Arndt to reach first and Brooklyn Bode to score for Nicollet’s 2-0 lead.

Hulke credited the velocity on Mathiowetz’s pitches for giving the Raiders trouble at the plate.

“We weren’t really swinging at the bad pitches, we were just a little behind,” Hulke said. “We haven’t seen a whole lot of fast pitching the last couple of weeks, so it was good to see that.”

Madeline Hose broke up Hulke’s no-hitter in the top of the sixth with one out on a double to left. A sac bunt by Mathiowetz moved Hose to third, but Hulke got another strikeout to end the top of the inning and the Knights’ scoring threat.

This was also Nicollet’s sixth game this week. They won a pair of doubleheaders to start the week before beating Madelia on Thursday and St. Mary’s on Friday.

Before Friday, the Raiders scored a combined total of 69 runs in their prior five games.

To limit the Raiders to one hit and two unearned runs on Friday was a boost of confidence for Mathiowetz.

“I think knowing that I do have the ability to beat people, it was a very good thing to know that I can do it,” Mathiowetz said.

And while the loss was tough to take, Mathiowetz knows St. Mary’s can be real competition for Nicollet should the teams meet again in the section playoffs.

“We knew that every run they got was our fault, and that’s always a bummer,” Mathiowetz said. “But we know that next time if we go in and we stay clean and do our job in the box, we are going to be competition against them. We’ve just got to make sure and stay confident, stay out of our heads.”

This was the first game between the two teams since last season’s Section 2A semifinals game at Caswell Park, which Nicollet won 4-3 in the ninth inning.

Nicollet, now 11-1 on the year, travels to Mankato to play St. Clair/Loyola on Monday, while St. Mary’s (9-4) hosts Minnesota Valley Lutheran at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.