KALAMAZOO, Mich. - It was a great way to start the conference season for the No. 5 Trine University softball team as they swept Kalamazoo 18-0 and 18-0 both in five innings. The Thunder improve their overall record to 19-3 on the season.
After starting slow the past couple of games the Thunder wasted no time against the Hornets as they scored six times in the top of the first. Sophomore Kaitlyn Clark (Mount Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central) was hit by a pitch with one out and sophomore Amy Newell (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) then reached on a Kalamazoo error. Senior Andi Gasco (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) followed with a walk and fellow senior Lauren Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) followed with a single through the right side to plate the first run. Sophomore Leah Hall (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) then reached on a walk to score Newell and Gasco would then score on a wild pitch by the Kalamazoo pitcher. Sophomore Rachel Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) would then step in and clear the bases with her fifth home run of the season.
In the top of the second, the Thunder would get a two out walk from Newell to get things started. Gasco would follow with a single to left to score Newell who had advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gasco would advance all the way to third on two Kalamazoo errors on the play. Lauren Harris would follow with a double to left center to score Gasco. Hall would also follow with a double of her own down the left field line, scoring Harris.
Leading 9-0, Trine wouldn’t let up in the third as they plated four more runs, all coming on the long ball. It would be Rachel Harris leading off the inning with a solo shot to right center. Junior Haleigh Daniels (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) then reached base on a dropped fly ball by Kalamazoo. One out later it would be Clark who reached on another Hornets error. Daniels would be retired as Newell then reach on the fielder’s choice which brought Gasco to the plate and she would deliver. Gasco, who came into the week tied for third in the nation in home runs, hit her 11th of the season on a bullet over the right center fence.
Trine added a run in the fourth despite not getting a hit. Senior Sarah Belote (Bronson, Mich./Bronson) led off the inning with a walk. Belote would then advance around the bases on three Kalamazoo wild pitches, of which the final one allowed her to score easily from third.
In the fifth, Clark led off the inning reaching on an error by the Kalamazoo third baseman. Newell would then hit a double to left center and scoring Clark. Gasco would also reach on a Kalamazoo error to put runners on the corners. One out later, Hall would score Newell on an RBI ground out to the second baseman. Belote then stepped in and delivered her first hit of the day on a towering home run to left field, her fifth of the year.
Gasco was near perfect on the day coming just one hit away from throwing back-to-back no-hitters as she surrendered a leadoff single in the first. Gasco finished the game with eight strikeouts and two walks for her ninth win of the season.
Game two didn’t start quite a quickly for the Thunder as they were held scoreless in the first inning. That would be the only time on the day however as Trine answered with three runs in the third.
Hall walked to lead off the inning and one out later Rachel Harris would also draw a walk. Daniels would then single through the left side to score Hall. Clark would also follow with a single through the left side to score both Daniels and Harris.
Trine would open the flood gates in the bottom of the third as they sent 18 batters to the plate, while scoring 13 runs on seven hits.
Belote would get the scoring started with a single through the left side that scored pinch runner freshman Riley Larkin (Plainfield, Ind./Avon) and Gasco. Daniels and freshman Allison Lang (Rome City, Ind./East Noble) would draw back-to-back bases loaded walks to score a pair of runs. Newell would clear the bases with a triple down the right field line and would score on an errant Kalamazoo throw. The Thunder would get another run after Gasco had reached on a walk followed by a Lauren Harris hit and a Kalamazoo error.
Trine would load the bases again on another walk to Belote, and once again Rachel Harris would deliver for her third homer of the day, this time a grand slam.
The Thunder would add two more runs in the fourth as pinch hitter freshman Astrid Koose (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Lang would then reach on an infield single to the shortstop to score the game’s final run.
Kalamazoo’s lone hit’s for the day both came off the bat of Madeline Sinkovich. She led off the bottom of the first in game one with a single and had a one out double in the top of the third in game two.
Sophomore Bree Fuller (Hubbardston, Mich./Fulton) went four innings allowing just one hit in game two while striking out six. Freshman Justine Robles (Long Beach, Calif./Lake Wood) came on for the fifth, and recorded all three outs via the strikeout.
For the day, five different Trine players recorded multiple hits as the Thunder hit .407 as a team, collecting 22 total hits. In all, 12-of-14 Trine batters that came to the plate collected a hit or reached base by a walk or hit by pitch. Lauren Harris led the Thunder going 5-for-8 with three runs and two RBIs. Sister Rachel also had an outstanding day at the dish going 4-for-6 with 8 RBIs and scoring five runs. Gasco led the team with seven runs scored on the afternoon while going 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in four and walking four times.
Belote, Newell and Clark all collected two hits on the day. Newell scored five times while driving in four, Belote scored four runs and knocked in four while Clark came around three times and had 2 RBIs. Hall would round the bases four times on the day while driving in two. Daniels also collected two RBIs on the day while scoring twice.
The 13 runs scored by the Thunder in the third inning fell shy of their record of 16 which came last year also against Kalamazoo, but it did tie for 16th in NCAA Division III history. Trine becomes just the third school in Division III history to score 13 or more runs twice or more in school history joining DeSales and Cortland St.
Trine will take a day off before returning to action on April 6 as they travel to Olivet for another conference doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
