ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University softball team picked up a pair of wins in their season-opening doubleheader against Anderson University. The team needed an extra inning in the first game but came up with the 3-2 win before cruising to an 8-1 victory in the second contest.
The first game started quickly for the Thunder offense. Sophomore Ellie Trine (Kokomo, Ind. / Kokomo) recorded a triple in her first at-bat and was brought in by classmate Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) on the next play with a deep flyball to left-center field.
The 1-0 lead lasted through the first two innings, but in the top of the third, a string of trouble for Trine gave the Ravens the opportunity to take a 2-1 lead of their own.
It took two more innings for the Thunder to respond. Once again Trine was the player to cross the plate this time brought in by freshman Scarlett Elliot's (Utica, Ohio / Utica) single through the left side. The bottom of the second saw the team with a chance to the lead back with bases loaded and two outs, but a sharply hit ball from the team found its way into the short stop's glove instead of the outfield and the threat ended.
At the end of the seventh inning, the two teams were still knotted up at two apiece and headed into extra innings under international tiebreaker rules. The Ravens quickly moved their free runner to third with a ground out in the top half but left her stranded there with two quick strikeouts by Thunder freshman Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) who entered the game in the fourth and pitched the final innings of the game scoreless to pick up the first win of her career.
That win came in the bottom of the eighth as Trine's free runner advanced to third on a wild pitch before the bases were loaded up on a pair of walks. Anderson loaded the infield in hopes of drawing out the double play or getting the runner at home, but freshman Emersyn Haney (Holland, Ohio / Springfield) came up big with the walk-off line-drive to right field, giving the team a 3-2 win.
In the second game, the team started hot offensively again. This time Haney led off with a double and was quickly brought home by Trine's single. Junior Ashley Swartout (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) then went long with a home run to left field to build the lead to 3-0.
Swartout would bring in another run in the bottom of the third with a hard-hit single up the middle. The scoring in the fourth came on a fielding error by the Raven second baseman, but still required some quick running from Trine to earn her second RBI of the game.
The top of the fifth saw Anderson break up the shutout. Their run in that inning would be the lone blemish to a fantastic game from sophomore Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) who secured five strikeouts in the game as she pitched all seven for her first win of the season.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Thunder added to their lead again, this time behind a single from senior Bailey Vande Giessen (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Central). Prather then gave the team their final runs with a homer of her own in the bottom of the sixth to build the lead to 8-1.
The game ended in the top of the seventh when Trine made her final mark on the game. The second baseman chased down a fly ball deep in foul territory before ripping off a throw to catch the runner advancing to second.
The team starts the season 2-0 following the pair of victories. They will travel to Georgetown, Ky. to participate in the Pioneer Classic hosted by Transylvania University this weekend. They begin with a pair of games on Saturday, March 20, the first coming at 11 a.m.