MARSHALL, Texas – Unphased by a seven-and-a-half-hour delay, the Trine University softball team posted two big innings to start the game and cruised to a 12-4 run-rule victory over Moravian University. The team staves off elimination from the 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Championship for the second day in a row with the win and will face Coe College tomorrow, Sunday, June 4 looking for two wins to advance to their second-straight championship series.
"It was a long day. Get here, get warmed up, go back in, sit for a couple hours, wait a couple more hours, then finally start the game," said head coach Don Danklefsen after the game, "I thought today was about our experience in being here. When you lose that game its mentally hard to fight back. I thought our kids today handled it as well as they could. I thought they played really well and looked much more comfortable on the turf defensively tonight. I was proud of their effort and how hungry they were from the beginning."
For both of the first two innings the all nine batters for the Thunder made their way to the plate as the team put four runs on the board in each inning to build a commanding 8-0 lead. In the first inning, Debbie Hill led the way with a two-RBI double with Scarlett Elliott and Emma Beyer each adding another later on. In the second inning Ainsley Phillips had the two-RBI hit with Beyer and Karley Trine adding one each.
On the other side of the ball, Hill had a much better start to the game then her first of the week. She recorded four strikeouts in those innings while allowing just three baserunners, none of whom reached second.
"I just came in trying to think it was just another game," said Hill, "I wasn't pleased with the first game and I knew I needed to come back and give it my all. I knew the team was fired up and I was getting good vibes and was ready to go."
Hill continued her monumental game in the third by adding more runs to the board in support of her own pitching. With Cassie Woods reaching base to start the inning for the third time of the night, Hill hit a ball off of the scoreboard for the team's first homerun in Texas. The two-run shot made the score 10-0 heading into the third.
The Greyhounds showed fight of their own over the next two innings. During the stretch they scored four runs of their own, both on two-RBI singles, cutting the deficit under the run-rule at 10-4 heading into the fifth inning.
Once again, the top of the Trine lineup came through with Woods reaching again before Karley Trine and Hill each brought in another run with additional hits.
With the deficit back to eight at 12-4 and Moravian down to just three outs, the Thunder turned to junior Alexis Michon who entered the game for the final three outs in the circle. She quickly dispatched those three outs on a strikeout and two pop-ups ending the game after five.
Hill picked up the win in the circle while also leading the team offensively. She finished her four innings of pitching with seven strikeouts while going three-for-three at the plate with five RBIs.
Trine improves to 42-5 overall, moving just one win away from tying the program's best season. To reach the championship series they will need to break that benchmark and win a pair, as they come out of the elimination side of the bracket to face the undefeated Kohawks. The team's first game of the day is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT / 3:30 p.m. ET with an if necessary game to follow at some point later in the day if the Thunder win.
"We're excited for tomorrow," concluded Danklefsen, "We're going to play one game at a time and see what happens. Hopefully we will continue to move up the side."
