HOLLAND, Mich. -- No. 9 Trine was swept by Hope in a MIAA softball doubleheader Wednesday evening at Wolters Stadium.
A shutout performance by Sydney Jones led the Flying Dutch to a 3-0 victory in game one. Hope proceeded to rack up 15 hits and take advantage of five Thunder errors to a 14-5 victory by run rule in five innings in game two. Sammi Adams totaled five hits, three RBIs and four runs scored to lead the Flying Dutch. Trine fell to 28-6 overall and 9-5 in the MIAA. The Thunder fell into fourth place in the conference. Hope improved to 23-11, 11-3 in conference play.
Game One: Hope 3, Trine 0
The pitching of Jones and early runs gave the Flying Dutch the game one victory.
Sierra Mutschler got Hope on the board in the bottom of the first with a RBI-single and later capped the scoring in the third with another run-scoring hit. Mutschler had two hits and two RBIs in game one. The Flying Dutch also scored in the bottom of the second when Sarah Jones came in to score on a throwing error while stealing third.
Those three runs were more than enough for Jones, who pitched the complete game to earn her ninth shutout of the season. The MIAA's ERA leader allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out 14. She improved to 12-4 on the season and did not allow a hit until the fourth inning.
The Thunder brought the tying run to the plate in seventh when Lainey McCue (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) singled and Catherine Porter (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth Canton) drew a walk. The Flying Dutch were able to escape the inning with a groundout.
Danielle Ray (Hamilton, Ohio / Badin) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, walked four and struck out seven. McCue and Claire Ryan (Union Grove, Wis. / Union Grove) had Trine's hits in game one.
Game Two: Hope 14, Trine 5 (5)
A big third inning helped the Dutch blow open game two as the team's offense exploded in the win.
After a two-run Hope first, the Thunder answered with four in the bottom of the frame. Kaylee Fox (Vermilion, Ohio / Edison) and Kristy Rawlings (Lizton, Ind. / Tri-West Hendricks) each plated two runs with singles. Rawlings has now collected eight RBIs in 16 at-bats this year.
The Flying Dutch tied things up with two in the second before exploding for seven in the third inning. Hope notched seven hits and took advantage of a Trine error in the inning. Shay Pinhey drove in two runs with a single, while Adams, Noelle Jackson, Amanda Diaz, Haley Reitsma and Katie Singer also picked up one RBI in the inning.
Porter's RBI-double in the bottom of the third was all the Thunder would get the rest of the way. A two-run single in the fifth by Diaz and another RBI by Adams gave the Flying Dutch the 14-5 margin for the run-rule victory.
Diaz, Adams and Pinhey combined for eight hits, nine RBIs and five runs scored in the game for Hope. Porter and Carly Bachna (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) each notched two hits for Trine.
Trine concludes the regular season at home Saturday, Apr. 29 against Adrian. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Following the doubleheader, the team will honor senior Catherine Porter in Senior Day festivities.