FISHERS, IND.—The 13th-ranked Trine softball team extended their winning-streak to 11 with a sweep of DePauw Saturday afternoon at Fishers High School.
Trine came from behind in both games to earn the victories. The Thunder staked DePauw to an early 1-0 lead before coming back in the late innings to win game one, 6-1. The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first of game two before the Thunder rallied back to earn the 14-9 victory. Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) had a big day at the plate for the Thunder. The junior totaled six hits, including two triples and a home run, drove in six runs and stole a base. Kaitlyn Clark (Mount Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central) homered twice, drove in five runs and stole a base as part of a three-hit day. She has homered in three straight games. Trine improves to 12-1 on the season. DePauw falls to 7-7 overall.
Game One: Trine 6, DePauw 1
After spotting the Tigers an early lead, the Trine bats awoke in the late innings to back Fuller and earn the 6-1 victory.
Sammi Bell got DePauw on the first, smacking a solo homer to center with one out in the top of the second to make the score 1-0.
That was all Trine starter Bree Fuller (Hubbardston, Mich./Fulton) would yield the rest of the way however. The junior scattered three hits, walked one and struck out six in six innings of work to earn her sixth-consecutive victory. Bre Cooper (Beech Grove, Ind./Beech Grove) worked a scoreless seventh.
After leaving runners stranded the first three innings, the Thunder broke through in the fourth when Clark launched a three-run shot to left center for her first homer of the day.
The Thunder loaded the bases with one out in the fifth on a Haleigh Daniels (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) single and a pair of walks. Rachel Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run and pick up an RBI. Searles came in to score on a wild pitch to make the score 5-1.
Searles gave Trine an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI-groundout to score Jamie Lydick (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield).
Daniels moved into third on Trine's all-time career doubles with her double in the fourth inning. She has 29 career doubles.
Game Two: Trine 14, DePauw 9
The Tigers jumped right out and appeared to be taking command early, but Trine rallied back to score multiple runs in four innings to earn the 14-9 victory.
DePauw scored six runs in the first, loading the bases with one out. Gabby Smart and Hailey Freres hit RBI-singles, while a walk and a hit batter each forced in a run to make the score 4-0. A two-run single by Bell capped the inning. Bell had a huge day for the Tigers, notching six hits and driving in four runs. She was retired just once in the doubleheader.
Trine started chipping away with a two-spot in the bottom of the inning. Clark got the Thunder on the board with a solo homer, and Harris later came in to score on a wild pitch.
Three runs in the second for the Thunder cut the score to 6-5. Highlighting the inning was a RBI-triple by Searles.
The Thunder took the lead back for good in a six-run third. Jamie Schnarr's (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering) first home run of the season was a two-run shot that put Trine up 8-7. Daniels, Searles and Marshall added RBI's in the inning.
The Tigers were able to pull within 11-9 with three runs over the following two innings, but a three-spot for Trine in the bottom of the fifth put the game out of reach. Searles homered to right center, while Leah Hall (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and Schnarr added run-scoring hits in the inning. Schnarr has made the most of her opportunities, picking up an RBI in each of her last four games.
Cooper picked up the victory with 4.2 innings of work. She allowed three earned runs and struck out three to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Trine returns to action tomorrow when they travel to Cleveland State to take on Case Western at 2:00 p.m.