ANGOLA, IND.-- The Trine softball team split the first two games of the 2014 MIAA Tournament, held Thursday at the Trine Softball Field.
The Thunder were upset in the opening round by Calvin, 5-4, before rallying to defeat Olivet 12-1 in an elimination game. Trine is 34-3 on the season. The Thunder await the loser of the Hope-Calvin matchup, which was suspended due to darkness with Hope leading 13-11 entering the bottom of the sixth. Calvin and Hope will resume play at 10 a.m. tomorrow, with Trine facing the loser at noon.
Opening Round: Calvin 5, Trine 1
Calvin scored five runs with two outs in the sixth to pull off the opening round upset.
The Knights took advantage of some extra chances in the sixth. Janelle Agren drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and error. The play put runners on second and third with none out.
After a strikeout, Trine shortstop Haleigh Daniels (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) gunned down Agren at the plate. Batter Ashley Jakus advanced to second on the play.
Calvin got their first run when Kelsey Pollock laid down a bunt, but the throw came to the plate and late with two outs as Ashley Riemersma scored to make the score 1-0. Pitcher Chelsea Vlot followed to help her own cause with a two-run single to give the Knights a 3-0 lead. Lina Avila capped the inning, launching a two-run bomb to left center to make the score 5-0. All of the runs were unearned.
Trine scored their lone run in the bottom of the seventh on a Jamie Schnarr (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering) RBI-double.
Vlot pitched a gem for the Knights, scattering four hits and one walk. Vlot improves to 10-5 on the season. She added two RBI's. Vlot retired 11-straight batters at one point.
Elimination Round: Trine 12, Olivet 1
The Trine bats awakened to lead the Thunder in elimnating Olivet from the tournament.
The Thunder got right on the board in the top of the first, with Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) setting the table with a leadoff single. She advanced to third on Kaitlyn Clark's (Mount Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central) sacrifice bunt. After a groundout, Rachel Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) ripped a single through the left side to make the score 1-0.
A pair of walks to start the bottom of the frame got Comets in business. After a pop out and a strikeout, Alyssa Nielsen came through with a clutch two-out single to tie the score at 1-1.
A solo homer by Leah Hall (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) broke open the tie in the top of the fourth. The junior's line-shot to left was her fourth homer of the season.
Trine broke open the game with six runs in the fifth. RBI-doubles by Kendra Marshall (Leesburg, Ind./Warsaw) and Harris stretched the score to 4-1. Harris had three hits and two RBI's. Schnarr added an RBI-single before Catherine Porter (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Canton) capped the inning with a three-run homer to left. The homer was the freshman's fourth of the season. Porter finished with three hits and three RBI's for TU.
An RBI-triple by Schnarr, an RBI-groundout by Daniels and a two-run single by Searles capped the scoring in the seventh for the Thunder. Schnarr finished with two hits and knocked in two, while Searles pounded out three hits and drove in two. Searles passed Kara Graham (2005-08) for fifth on Trine's all-time list in RBI's with 108.
Bree Fuller (Hubbardston, Mich./Fulton) worked the complete game for the Thunder to get the win. The junior scattered three hits, walked two and struck out eight to improve to 19-1. Fuller is two strikeouts from reaching 400 whiffs in her Trine career.
First baseman Lauren Lenard became Olivet's all-time leader in games started in the game.
