ANGOLA, Ind. – Freshman Debbie Hill recorded the second perfect game of the week for the Trine University softball team, as they cruised to a sweep of visiting Albion College.
Hill becomes just the third Thunder softball player ever to throw a perfect game, joining teammate Lauren Clausen and program alumna Bree Fuller. In addition to recording their perfect games in the same week, Clausen and Hill did it in consecutive games. The two combined for ten-straight innings of perfect pitching for Trine, with Clausen recording her performance in the second game of the team's doubleheader against Olivet College.
In today's pair of contests, Hill took the circle for the opening pitch. She made quick work of the Britons in her first outing, drawing a line drive to first base before striking out the final two batters of the inning. All told in the game Hill recorded eight strikeouts, half of her 15 batters faced. The other seven outs came on five groundouts and two line drives.
The Thunder put themselves on the board in the bottom of the first. Four of thier first five batters reached base on walks, with junior Scarlett Elliott securing the fourth and earning the RBI. The inning ended there with a 1-0 lead.
Trine added another in the second. Junior Alexis Michon reached base first on another walk, advancing to second on a passed ball and third on a groundout by sophomore Emma Beyer. Senior Ellie Trine brought in the run with the team's first hit of the game, a line drive up the center of the infield.
The team made it 3-0 in the third, this time Elliott reached to lead off the inning, on a hit-by-pitch. She moved to second on a groundout and then reached home on another single up the middle, this time by Michon, with two outs.
The offense opened up in the bottom of the fourth. Ellie Trine led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Cassie Woods then recorded an RBI-single, followed quickly by an RBI-double from freshman Karley Trine.
After a pitching change by the Britons, Elliott hammered a ball over the left field fence for two RBIs. Not to be outdone, senior Amanda Prather got her homer just a bit further toward center. Beyer finished off the scoring a few batters later with an RBI-double.
The team tallied six runs in the half-inning, building a 9-0 lead and forcing Albion to their final three outs. Two strikeouts and a groundball later, the game was over with Hill recording the win and the perfect game.
Anna Koeppl started the second game of the day for the Thunder in the circle and for the first two and two-thirds innings it looked like she may extend the streak of perfect games. In the third inning the Britons did record their first hit of the day. Koeppl finished with five innings of work, allowing just two hits while striking out eight, a new season-high for the senior.
Trine scored their first run of the game in the top of the third inning. After Beyer reached on a single, sophomore Ainsley Phillips took her first at-bat of the day and put the ball over the centerfield fence. The two-run homer is her fourth of the season.
Phillips then got the offense restarted in the top of the fifth, reaching on a single to the shortstop. Woods then brought her home with a triple to right field.
The Thunder extended their lead for the final time in the sixth inning. After a leadoff single from Hill, senior Emily Wheaton pinch ran. She went on to steal second and advance to third on a passed ball. Elliott recorded another RBI when she grounded out to the pitcher with Wheaton coming home.
Prather followed up with a triple to right field but ended up scoring after a defensive miscue by the Britons. Freshman Reese Ruvalcaba came up with an RBI-single when she pinch hit later in the inning and Woods finished off the scoring with a double that brought home two more runs.
With the score 8-0, Albion once again faced their final three outs in the bottom of the sixth. Clausen entered the game for the at-bats and continued her impressive week of pitching. She put down the three batters she faced, two of them on strikeouts, giving the team the win.
The Thunder improve to 23-3 overall and 6-0 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play following the sweep. The team will host Calvin University in their next doubleheader on Wednesday, April 19. The first game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
