ANGOLA, Ind. – Senior Anna Koeppl posted her 11th straight shutout appearance in the circle to lead the Trine University softball team to an 8-0 run-rule victory over Wartburg College. The Thunder advance to the 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Angola, Ind. Regional Championship contest on the back of the victory, putting them one win away from advancing to the super regional round.
"When you play a team with dominant pitching and they get one or two runs you know mentally how challenging that is," explained head coach Don Danklefsen, "So if we can score early, now it flips on them. Now they have to score on one of the best staffs in the country. I thought we kept pressure on Wartburg throughout the game today."
The team had a perfect opportunity to put that pressure on the Knights early, serving as the visitors on the scoreboard for the contest. The Thunder bats score three runs in the first, sending Koeppl to the circle with an early cushion.
After a leadoff out, senior Ellie Trine and freshman Karley Trine reached base on singles. Freshman Debbie Hill followed up with a double over the right fielder that brought both of the Trine sisters home. The team went on to load the bases and freshman Ashleigh Tranter recorded a single to score the final run of the inning.
Koeppl made quick work of Wartburg in the bottom of the inning, allowing just one runner on an error by her defense. That became the theme of the day, with no more than one Knight reaching base in any of the five innings. Koeppl ended the day with four strikeouts while allowing just three hits and facing just 18 batters.
The Thunder added to their lead in the third inning. This time Hill led off and reached base on a single, before giving way to junior Emily Wheaton. The speedster advanced to second on a groundout and then stole her 20th base of the season to advance to third. Sophomore Emma Beyer recorded brought in the run with a single up the middle.
The team added three more in the fourth. The first came because of the work on the base paths. With runners on the corners, Ellie Trine took off for second on a steal attempt drawing an errant throw from the catcher and allowing Ainsley Phillips to scamper home. Trine preceded to load the bases over the next few batters, with Scarlett Elliott drawing a walk to score one run and Beyer recording a second hit to score another.
Karley Trine recorded an RBI-single in the fifth to make the score 8-0 and after a final quick inning from Koeppl the Thunder finished the day early with the win.
Trine improves to 37-4 following the victory. They will take the field for a rematch of today's contest in the championship game of the regional, after Wartburg won their way back throw the loser's bracket to reach the contest. That game is scheduled for noon tomorrow, Saturday, May 20. The Knights would need to win twice tomorrow to topple the Thunder.