ANGOLA, Ind. - Trine University's championship hopes ended in game 12 of the 2013 NCAA Division III Angola Softball Regional as they fell to Anderson University 10-6.
The loss ended one of the Thunder's best seasons with a 38-5 record while also winning the MIAA tournament last weekend and had captured the conference title.
"I know this is the best ball club that ever played at this university," Trine head coach Donnie Danklefsen said. "I'm so proud of these four seniors and one day they'll appreciate what they did, too," he said of the foursome who made their final home appearance. Seniors Sarah Belote, Andi Gasco, Lauren Harris and Ashton Morgan all agreed it had been a great season despite the abrupt end.
"Obviously, it's not how we expected it to end, but we can't regret how the season went, either," Harris said.
The Ravens were fueled by a homer in the second and six runs in the third that kept Trine trailing after them. Trine stopped the Ravens from scoring in the fourth and sixth, but failed to warm up their bats.
Anderson scored off an error in the top of the first inning to take the lead, 1-0, when Trine tallied two hits, but no runs and two runners were thrown out at the plate.
In the second, Raven senior Natalie Moorhouse made the team's sole hit of the inning count when she cracked a home run to left center.
Trine answered that run when sophomore Leah Hall singled to third. Belote would reach on an error that also allowed Hall to score.
The Ravens cushioned their lead in the third, scoring six runs on six hits.
"We got off hitting-wise to as quick a start as we did on day one with Trine," Anderson head coach Tony Holloway said.
Trine freshman pitcher Justine Robles started on the mound for Trine, throwing 2 1/2 innings before Fuller relieved her. Gasco got in on the action, too, coming in for the sixth and seventh inning and allowing just one hit.
"I credit their pitching staff; they came in and got them out of some jams," Anderson's Holloway said of Trine.
But Trine didn't leave everything to the pitching staff as sophomore Amy Newell singled in the third to bring in a runner, leaving the score at 8-2.
Trine relied on the wheels of pinch runner freshman Riley Larkin to take Harris' place after she singled to second in the fourth inning. Larkin was quick to steal second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Belote singled up the middle and Larkin buzzed home.
Trine kept the Ravens from scoring in the fourth but the Ravens scored two runs on two hits and one error in the top of the fifth, bringing the score to 10-2.
In the bottom of the inning, Gasco tripled to bring in Newell, who had singled.
The Thunder gained some ground in the seventh when Searles walked and later scored on an Anderson error and Newell singled and scored on a hit by Hall, respectively.
"Until that last out, I still believed we could pull through," Gasco said.
"They beat us, you can't take that away from them," Danklefsen said. "But I would pick this team anytime."