WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Trine University softball team won two more games in shutout fashion on the third day of their spring break trip. They opened the day with a 5-0 victory over Aurora University before finishing with a 1-0 win over Heidelberg University.
Pitching took the forefront of the beginning of the first game. Senior Anna Koeppl got the start in the circle for the Thunder and settled in quickly allowing just two baserunners during the first three innings. She pitched for five innings allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out three.
It took Trine a bit of time to get going offensively. In the fourth inning things changed when senior Amanda Prather drew a walk. In the next at-bat freshman Debbie Hill brought the run home with a double. The team added to the lead in the fifth when Cassie Woods brought in a run on an error.
Another run came in the sixth inning. Hill led off with a single before being replaced by junior Emily Wheaton to run the bases. A few batters later freshman Karley Trine brought in the run with a single making the score 3-0.
In the bottom half of the sixth, junior Lauren Clausen took the field in relief of Koeppl. She finished off the combined shutout with a two-inning save. She allowed just two hits and a walk while recording a strikeout.
The Thunder finished the scoring in the seventh. The team steadily loaded the bases bringing junior Scarlett Elliott to the plate with a grand opportunity. She came up with a double that brought home a pair of runs and gave the team their 5-0 lead.
The second game of the day came against the Student Princes and saw both teams struggle offensively. Neither team was able to plate a run for the vast majority of the game. The contest looked destined for extra innings with both teams scoreless in the seventh inning.
Hill took the circle for the game and was a big reason that Heidelberg remained scoreless through the top of the seventh. While she allowed six hits and a walk she also posted seven strikeouts in the shutout performance.
Hill then led off in the bottom of the seventh and picked up a single, just the third hit of the game for the team. A sacrifice bunt from Elliott moved the runner into scoring position for the team. Trine continued the season with two straight walks to load the bases for Carolyn Biel who brought in the game winning run when she was struck by a pitch.
The walk-off victory gave the team a pair of wins for the day and improved their record to 6-0 overall. The Thunder will finish their time in Florida tomorrow, Tuesday, March 7 with a final two games. They will begin the day at 9 a.m. when they faceoff with Nebraska Wesleyan University before finishing the day at 2 p.m. against Otterbein College.