KISSIMMEE, Fla.-- The Trine softball team swept Muskingum and Bridgewater (Va.) on day two of the Rebel Spring Games.
Paced by a strong pitching effort from Justine Robles (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood), the Thunder defeated Muskingum 5-1 in the early game. The bats woke up to carry the load in game two as Trine earned a 16-1 victory over Bridgewater. Freshman Racquel Ward (Polk, Ohio/Ashland) homered, drove in seven runs and earned her first collegiate victory in the circle in game two. The wins evened up Trine's record at 2-2.
Game One: Trine 5, Muskingum 1
Robles shut down the Muskies over seven innings, surrendering just two hits and an earned run. The senior ace walked one batter and struck out nine. Robles is closing in on the 300-strikeout milestone in her career and concluded payer with 293 career K's. The Thunder notched its first victory of the season to improve to 1-2.
Kendra Marshall (Leesburg, Ind./Warsaw) got Trine on the board with an RBI-double to score Kaitlyn Clark (Mount Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central) in the top of the first.
The Thunder tacked on four runs in the second after loading the bases with one out. Erica Robles (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood) was hit by a pitch to bring in a run, before an infield single off the bat of Clark made the score 3-0. Trine capped off the inning with two runs scoring on a wild pitch and throwing error.
Dani Kirchner (North Vernon, Ind./Jennings County) notched the first three-hit game of her collegiate career. Clark also added three hits and scored two runs.
Game Two: Trine 16, Bridgewater (Va.) 1
Ward had not only a breakout game, but a historic game as well to lead the way. The freshman knocked in seven runs, tied for the second-most in a game in team history. Ward slammed her first collegiate home run and added the first three-hit game of her Trine career at the plate.
In the circle, Ward worked four innings to earn the victory. She surrendered an earned run on four hits and struck out three to improve to 1-0 on the year.
Kaylee Fox (Vermilion, Ohio/Edison) added a three-run blast for her first homer of the season. Fox also scored three runs on the day. Clark added two RBIs, while Alison Lang (Rome City, Ind./East Noble) added another multi-hit game and drove in a pair of runs.
The Thunder stole seven bases and pounded out 16 hits in the offensive outburst. Every starter in Trine's batting order recorded at least one hit. A nine-run fourth propelled the Thunder to the victory by run-rule.
Trine concludes its performance in the Rebel Spring Games tomorrow with games against 2015 NCAA Regional foe Thomas More and Hiram.