COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The Trine University softball team finished off competition at the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic with another tough day, falling to nationally ranked Eastern Connecticut State University and Randolph-Macon College.
The team opened the day against the Warriors, who were ranked sixth in the preseason national coaches' poll conducted by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). After a scoreless first, ECSU struck first scoring four runs with a pair of two RBI hits.
The Thunder pitching staff would settle in after the offensive run and hold the opposition scoreless for the next four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, junior Ellie Trine (Kokomo, Ind. / Kokomo) led off with a walk followed by classmate Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) recording a single. Both runners would trot home on a home run from senior Ashley Swartout (Westfiled, Ind. / Westfield) which cut the lead to one at 4-3.
The Warriors added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh and played pitched their way to the final 6-3 victory in the bottom half.
Trine looked to bounce back in the second game against the Yellow Jackets. Sophomore Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) got the start in the circle for the team and pitched five scoreless innings while recording four strikeouts, allowing one hit and no walks.
In the top of the third, the Ellie Trine drew a walk with two outs. Prather followed up by drawing an error moving Trine to third, she would then score on a passed ball, giving the team a 1-0 lead.
That score held through the rest of the game until the bottom of the seventh inning when Randolph-Macon would score a pair of runs to win the game 2-1 in walk off fashion.
The Thunder fall to 0-6 following the pair of losses. The team will travel to Florida for the remainder of their spring break competition. The next scheduled game is against Husson University on Wednesday, March 9 at 3 p.m. in Clermont, Fla.