INDIANAPOLIS – Nationally-ranked Trine University softball picked up another sweep this time in a doubleheader against Spalding University. The pair of games which were hosted by the University of Indianapolis, both ended in shutout, run-rule victories.
The day began slowly for both offenses, with junior Alexis Michon giving the Eagles fits from her spot in the circle. She would end up pitching all five innings of the contest and allowed just one hit while striking out nine.
The Thunder took until the third inning to finally get going in the batters' boxes. They started the inning with the top of their lineup and senior Ellie Trine led off with a single before stealing second. Cassie Woods brought her in with a double putting the first run on the board.
The inning went south from there for Spalding, with Trine going through the lineup and then halfway again. The team drew five walks and a hit-by-pitch with the final three free bases each bringing in a run. Sophomore Ainsley Phillips, Ellie Trine and Woods, all earned RBIs for their good eyes while batting.
Adding additional runs were freshman Debbie Hill on a double, classmate Karley Trine and sophomore Emma Beyer singles, and senior Amanda Prather on a groundout. All of the offense amounted to nine runs on the board in the single half-inning.
Neither team scored through the remainder of the game and it would end after the top of the fifth with a 9-0 final run-rule win for the Thunder.
After another quiet start to game two, Trine opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Giselle Riley led off with a double. Ashleigh Tranter then reached on an error by the third baseman that ended with the freshman making it to third and Riley coming home. Tranter scored on one of the next few pitches, which went down as a passed ball. Woods added to her day's RBI total later in the inning with a sacrifice fly.
They added to the 3-0 lead in the third inning. Hill led off with a homer over the left field fence. Prather followed up with a sharp single before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from Beyer. Prather made it home with great baserunning on a weird play that saw an error in right field and a runner thrown out at second.
With two outs in the fourth, Woods reached on a fantastic bunt and then stole second. She came home when Karley Trine singled to left center in the next at-bat. After junior Emily Wheaton pinch ran and stole second, Hill brought in the seventh run of the game with a double.
Senior Anna Koeppl finished her work toward the shutout in the top of the fifth. She finished her five innings allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three. In the bottom of the fifth, Ellie Trine finished the game with a walk off single to the right side of the infield.
The team improves to 16-2 overall following the sweep. They will continue their season when they host Muskingum University on Thursday, April 6 for a doubleheader. The first game is set to start at 3 p.m.