GREENCASTLE, Ind. – Senior Lainey McCue (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) led the way offensively as the Trine University softball team picked up their second win of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship regional round over host DePauw University by the score of 17-4.
McCue had a mammoth day at the plate for the team finishing the contest four for five behind three home runs and a double to bring in eight runs for the team. Both her home run and runners batted in tallies tie NCAA Division III Softball Championship records. She becomes just the third player to finish a postseason game with three home runs and the first since 2013. It is just the second time that a player has tallied eight runners batted in during a postseason contest, the last coming in 2000.
The game will also go down in the Thunder record books as the second best by a batter in the NCAA era. The game sits in second in both home runs and runners batted in, trailing just Sarah Belote's (class of '13) game where she recorded 14 runners batted in on four home runs.
The Thunder found themselves trailing the Tigers early in the contest when the opposition tallied a run in the bottom of the first to take the first lead of the day.
Trine tied the contest in the top of the third with a solo home run from freshman Lexi Clark (Niles, Mich. / Edwardsburg) down the right-field line.
In the top of the forth, McCue recorded her first home run of the day with a three-run effort to right center field to give Trine the 4-1 lead, their first of the game.
The Thunder added to their lead in the fifth, first with an RBI single down the left field line by freshman Taylor Murdock (Lapel, Ind. / Lapel) and then the second of McCue's home runs this time a two-RBI effort.
Trine finished their scoring in the top of the seventh when they put the game out of reach with ten runs. McCue once again highlighted the effort as she recorded both her third home run and a double in two at-bats during the inning.
Defensively the Thunder allowed just three runs following the first inning and took the victory 17-4.
The win advances Trine to the championship game, which will take place tomorrow, May 12. Currently, the game is scheduled to begin at noon, but updates may be made based on weather conditions. The updated schedule can be found on the regional webpage.