CLERMONT, Fla. – The Trine University softball team finished off their week in the south with a two-win day, their first of the season. The wins included a victory over Rowan University, who currently sits 18th in the latest NFCA national coaches' poll.
In the first game of the day the team faced off with Penn State Behrend and came up with a hard fought 3-1 victory.
The opening inning saw the Lions take the first lead of the game. The leadoff batter would reach on an error by Thunder starting pitcher Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) before moving to third on a pair of sacrifice hits and coming home on a single.
The run would end up being the lone mark against Koeppl as she would settle into the circle holding the opposition scoreless through the rest of the game. She finished the contest allowing just the one run, which would go down as unearned, on five hits and one walk while striking out seven.
Offensively Trine took longer to wake up after their late-night contest that left the team with less than 12 hours between contests. They would finally do so in the top of the fourth.
After a leadoff out, sophomore Scarlett Elliott (Utica, Ohio / Utica) reached base on a single quickly followed by freshman Ainsley Phillips (Yorktown, Ind. / Yorktown) bringing her home with the first homerun of her career.
The offense would quiet again following the runs, but the team added an insurance run in the top of the seventh working their leadoff hitter to second before senior Mercede Daugherty (Watervliet, Mich. / Watervliet) brought her home with a double.
The 3-1 score would go final despite some hits for the Lions in the bottom half of the inning giving the Thunder their third win of the season.
It was Trine's turn for a quick start in the second game of the day as they faced off with nationally ranked Profs. Sophomore Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) started the game in the circle and recorded three quick outs in the first including a pair of strikeouts.
Junior Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) hit a double with one out to start the hitting in the bottom half. She would move to third on a groundout before trotting home on an Elliott single to right field.
The game would quiet for the next couple of innings, until the fourth saw the Thunder make their move again. The team would work the bases loaded with just one out when Prather drew out a walk to score a run. Daugherty would then single to third base bringing in a second and building a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth inning sophomore Lauren Clausen (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove) would relieve Rosey in the circle and finished out the game allowing just one hit, one walk and no runs to give the team the 3-0 win.
Trine improves to 4-7 following the pair of wins. They will head to Lexington, Kentucky for their next competition with four games all hosted by Transylvania University over a two-day span starting on Saturday, March 19. Their first game is scheduled against nationally-ranked DePauw University at 12:30 p.m. followed by Wartburg College at 3 p.m.