KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- No. 10 Trine earned victories over Washington College (Md.) and No. 6 Messiah as part of Rebel Spring Games action Thursday at Oren Brown Park.
The Thunder earned a 9-2 victory over Washington in the opening game of the day before its tussle with the sixth-ranked Falcons. Trine scored two runs in the seventh to earn the 3-1 victory. Danielle Ray (Hamilton, Ohio / Badin) fired a complete game to earn the victory over Messiah. Erica Robles (Long Beach, Calif. / Lakewood) notched the go-ahead RBI in the game. Trine improved to 12-0 on the season, the team's longest undefeated start to a season in program history.
Game One: Trine 9, Washington College 2
Two big innings produced all Thunder runs in the game one victory.
Trine struck first for five runs in the second. The Thunder scored its first run on an error before Michaela Hartline (Niles, Mich. / Brandywine) knocked in two with a single. Hartline had two hits in game one. Another run crossed on an error before Nicole Ferraro (North Royalton, Ohio / Holly Name) brought in another run with a RBI-groundout.
A four-run fourth capped Trine's scoring. The Thunder scored its first two runs of the inning on an error. Ferraro added an RBI-double and Kaylee Fox (Vermilion, Ohio / Edison) capped the inning with a run-scoring single.
Washington College scored both of its runs on wild pitches. Taylor Harcum and Leah Stokes each had two hits in the game.
Hannah Kampmann (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin Derham Hall) improved to 7-0 in the circle for Trine. Kate Saupe (Farwell, Mich. / Farwell) finished things up with 2.2 innings of shutout relief.
Game Two: Trine 3, Messiah 1
Ray's gem and clutch hitting in the seventh proved to be enough for the Thunder to earn the victory in the showdown of top 10 teams.
Each team pushed across an early run. The Falcons struck first in the bottom of the first. Samantha Esper singled with one out and stole second. A two-out double off the left field fence by Eric Cressman brought home Esper to make the score 1-0. The two hits in the first were the only hits allowed by Ray all afternoon.
Trine answered back in the top of the second, coaxing four walks to score without the benefit of a hit. Emily White (Fortville, Ind. / Mount Vernon) worked the bases-loaded walk with two outs to force home the run and tie the score 1-1.
Both pitchers were in complete control until the seventh. Messiah starter Carrie Fix took a no-hitter into the final inning, with five walks being the only blemishes on her record until then. Ray matched her pitch for pitch as she didn't allow a baserunner after a two-out walk in the second.
Claire Ryan (Union Grove, Wis. / Union Grove) broke up Fix's no-hit bid with a single to lead off the seventh. After a fielder's choice, Catherine Porter (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth Canton) singled to left to put two on with one out. White was able to move both runners on a sharply hit ball to first, putting runners at second and third with two out.
That set the stage for Robles, who hit a ball sharply up the middle and legged out the infield single to score Lainey McCue (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) with the go-ahead run. Makenna Hartline (Niles, Mich. / Brandywine) followed with a double tucked just inside the left field line to make the score 3-1.
Ray completed the victory by striking out the side in the seventh. The freshman retired the last 16 batters of the game in order. She surrendered an earned run on two hits, walked one and struck out seven to improve to 5-0 on the season. Ray threw 74 of her 100 pitches for strikes.
Fix took the loss for Messiah. She allowed three earned runs on four hits, walked five and struck out two. The Falcons fell to 10-3 on the season.
Trine continues play in the Rebel Spring Games tomorrow with matchups against Carroll (1:30 p.m.) and Wooster (3:45 p.m.).