ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine softball team wrapped up its fourth-consecutive MIAA Championship, as the Thunder capped off the regular-season with a sweep of St. Mary's Sunday afternoon at SportONE/Parkview Softball Field.
The Thunder earned a 5-2 victory in game one before running away with a 9-0 victory in five innings in game two. Trine had already clinched the MIAA regular-season championship entering play and put the finishing touches on its fourth-consecutive title run. The Thunder will host the MIAA Tournament as the number one seed. Trine concludes the regular-season 33-2 overall and 15-1 in conference play.
Trine seniors Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey), Amy Newell (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers), Leah Hall (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central), Rachel Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) and Jamie Schnarr (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering) combined for 12 hits and 12 RBIs at the plate. Searles homered twice and locked up the MIAA batting title on Senior Day, while Schnarr and Hall each homered as well. Fellow senior Bree Fuller (Hubbardston, Mich./Fulton) tossed the shutout in game two.
Freshman Kaylee Fox (Vermilion, Ohio/Edison) wrapped up the MIAA campaign tied for the conference record of nine home runs in league play this season. Fox also topped the MIAA with 28 RBIs in conference play.
With a five-hit day, Searles pulled into a tie for second in NCAA Division III history in hits. Searles is tied with Emilie Lepp (Linfield, 2009-12) with 293 hits- six shy of the national record.
Game One: Trine 5, St. Mary's 2
The Thunder seniors paced the offensive effort and Justine Robles (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood) settled in after a tough start to earn the victory.
The Belles struck first, getting a pair of runs in the first inning. Cleanup-hitter Jillian Busfield picked up an RBI-single to put SMC on the board. Makenzie Duncan later added an RBI-double.
The score would stay that way until the third inning. Searles and Kaitlyn Clark (Mount Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central) singled. With two outs in the inning, Schnarr stepped to the plate and lined a long home run to left-center to put Trine ahead, 3-2. The homer was the senior's eighth of the season.
Searles led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run over the right-center wall to make the score 4-2. Hall added an RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth for the final margin.
Robles settled in after the early trouble to pitch another complete game. The junior scattered 10 hits and allowed two earned runs, walking two and striking out 10. Robles improved her record to 17-2 on the season.
Game Two: Trine 9, St. Mary's 0
Fuller fired the shutout as the Thunder bats did the rest to give Trine the sweep.
Clark and Schnarr got Trine on the board with RBI-singles in the first. Newell capped off the first with an RBI-double to make the score 3-0. Fox added an RBI-single in the second to keep the hot start rolling.
Searles ripped a two-run homer to center in the third, while Hall went opposite-field for her two-run home run in the fifth. Clark capped off the scoring with an RBI-single to score Searles.
Fuller scattered five hits, did not walk a batter and fanned four to remain perfect at 12-0 on the season. The shutout was the 14th of her career. The senior now has a career record of 59-5.
Clark and Searles each tied Andi Gasco's (2010-13) Trine team record of 147-career RBIs in the doubleheader. Hall passed Lauren Harris (2010-13) four fourth on Trine's all-time list and now has 129-career RBIs.
Trine will host the MIAA Tournament this coming Thursday and Friday, April 30-May 1. The Thunder will face St. Mary's in the first round Thursday, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. Hope and Alma will open the tournament Thursday at 11 a.m.
