Bats Power Thunder to Victory in Regional Opener

Bats Power Thunder to Victory in Regional Opener

WHITEWATER, Wis. -- The Trine softball team belted four home runs to pace a 12-1 victory over Greenville in five innings in the opening game of the Whitewater Regional at van Steenderen Softball Complex.

All four Thunder homers came from freshmen. Carly Bachna (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) led the way with two home runs and totaled a career-high six RBIs in her NCAA postseason debut. Bachna's six RBIs tied a team postseason record. Claire Ryan (Union Grove, Wis. / Union Grove) homered as part of a three-hit effort in her first collegiate game in her home state. Michaela Hartline (Niles, Mich. / Brandywine) also homered for Trine. The four home runs tied a program record for postseason play.

Danielle Ray (Hamilton, Ohio / Badin) fired four shutout innings in her Regional debut. The freshman did not surrender a hit until the fourth inning and allowed just one hit and one walk. Ray struck out five to improve to 17-3 on the season. She now has 143 strikeouts on the season, good for eighth in team history.

Hartline didn't make the Thunder wait long for the first run of the game, as she deposited a long fly over the center field wall two batters in for a 1-0 Trine lead. After back-to-back hits by Ryan and Kaylee Fox (Vermilion, Ohio / Edison), Bachna connected on her first of two three-run blasts to make the score 4-0 after one.

Trine struck for four more in the second. Back-to-back RBI singles by Makenna Hartline (Niles, Mich. / Niles) and Michaela Hartline pushed the score to 6-0. Ryan then connected on a two-run homer to center on a 2-2 pitch to cap another four-run inning and make the score 8-0. The homer was Ryan's third of the season.

Four more runs in the fourth sealed the win. Fox's RBI single started the scoring, before Bachna's second three-run bomb capped the scoring. The freshman brought her season home run total to 12.

Greenville scored its run in the fifth on an RBI-groundout by Tiffany Samsoe.

Trine advances to Game Three of the Regional, where the Thunder will meet the winner of the matchup between Hope and Wisconsin-Whitewater at 11 a.m. CDT.