ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. – The Trine University softball team picked up a pair of hard-fought victories to finish off the Pioneer Classic 2-2.
The team started the day with a morning contest against Illinois Wesleyan University. The Titans would strike first in the contest, scoring the lone run of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
The Thunder would respond in the second with a pair of long balls. Freshman April Sellers (North Salem, Ind. / Tri-West) and sophomore Giselle Riley (Temecula, Calif. / Temecula Valley) would record back-to-back home runs to give the team a 2-1 lead.
The score would hold for the next few innings until Trine would go on another scoring run in the fifth inning. Senior Mercede Daugherty (Watervliet, Mich. / Watervliet) would start record a double to bring in the first run of the inning followed by sophomore Scarlett Elliott (Utica, Ohio / Utica) making the score 5-1 on another homer.
Illinois Wesleyan would score one run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit back to three, but the Thunder quickly responded when junior Ellie Trine (Kokomo, Ind. / Kokomo) brought in a run in the sixth inning.
A pair of Titan homers made the score 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth. The Trine pitching would settle in again after the runs and secure the victory. Sophomore Lauren Clausen (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove) got the start in the circle for the team and would finish the game with five innings pitched, four runs on six hits and five walks while recording eight strikeouts. Classmate Elizabeth Koch (Franklin, Wis. / Franklin) finished the game in relief recording a save.
The second game of the day saw Trine faceoff with Transylvania University, the hosts of the event. Junior Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) would start the game in the circle and started strong through the first two innings. She would run into trouble in the third allowing four runs and getting sent to the bench. Sophomore Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) would finish the game in relief and finished with four innings of near perfect work allowing just two hits and a walk while recording seven strikeouts.
The Thunder would quickly cut into the Pioneers' 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third when senior Taylor Murdock (Lapel, Ind. / Lapel) singled to the shortstop bringing in a lone run.
Riley would record her second home run of the game in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to one at 4-3. Then Elliott would tie the game in the fifth with an RBI single. Then in the sixth inning the team would finally take the lead, this time on a hit by freshman Ainsley Phillips (Yorktown, Ind. / Yorktown) making the score 5-4, which would hold through the end of the game.
The team improves to 6-9 following the pair of wins. They will take the diamond again on Wednesday, March 23 when they travel to face Anderson University for a doubleheader. The opening game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.