ALBION, Mich. – The Trine University softball team opened the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) portion of the season with a sweep of their hosts from Albion College.
The story of the opening two innings of the day was the start by sophomore pitcher Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) who would strikeout the first seven Briton batters. The eighth batter would record a hit, the lone one for Albion in the game as the Rosey finished with another one-hit shutout. This is the third time in her last five starts that Rosey has allowed just one hit. She would add four more strikeouts through the rest of the game to finish with 11 on the day.
The Thunder offense on the other hand took a few innings to convert but was operating from the start. After leaving runners on base in the first two innings, senior Taylor Murdock (Lapel, Ind. / Lapel) finally brought in a run with a solo home run in the top of the third.
Two of the next three batters would reach base and junior Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) would bring them both home with a hard-hit double to centerfield giving the team the 3-0 lead.
The next runs would come in the fifth inning. Trine would work a leadoff runner around the bases before sophomore Giselle Riley (Temecula, Calif. / Temecula Valley) brought her home with a double. Freshman April Sellers (North Salem, Ind. / Tri-West) would then keep it going with a single that brought Riley in to make the score 5-0.
The Thunder started the sixth with their second homer of the game, this time freshman Ainsley Phillips (Yorktown, Ind. / Yorktown) was the one to trot around the bases. The next two batters would then reach base on singles, before senior Ashley Swartout (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) would bring them both home with a double. Prather finished off the scoring with a groundout that brought Swartout home from third a few batters later.
After a final "1-2-3" inning from Rosey in the circle during the bottom of the sixth, the team would finish the game with the run-rule shortened 9-0 victory. Swartout finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs with Prather just edging her out to lead the team with three RBIs. Murdock also finished strong going 2-for-2 and earning a base after getting hit-by-pitch in another at bat.
The offense would roll right from the start in the second game of the day. After the first three batters would reach on a walk, a hit-by-pitch and an error, Swartout would record another RBI with a single. The next two batters, sophomore Scarlett Elliott (Utica, Ohio / Utica) and Prather, would bring in two more on sacrifice flies. The team would leave the first with a 3-0 lead.
The first two batters would reach in the second inning as well and senior Mercede Daugherty (Watervliet, Mich. / Watervliet) brought both home on a single to centerfield. The two runs made the score 5-0 after two.
Just the first runner would reach in the third inning for the team, but she would still come home on the back of a Phillips double. Then a few batters later, Daugherty would single again to bring home Phillips and make the score 7-0.
And from there the bats cooled and Trine would fail to score another run during the contest. In the circle for the team things were more hectic than the first game, but sophomore Lauren Clausen (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove) still got the job done. The Britons would score runs in the fifth and the sixth inning to cut the lead to 7-2, but Clausen held firm and finished the game with a win. She allowed those two runs on nine hits, but walked just one while striking out nine in another solid start.
Daugherty was the offensive leader in the game when all was said and done. She finished 2-for-4 with three runners batted in and a walk. Phillips finished off a solid day with a 2-for-3 performance in the contest.
Trine improves to 12-9 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play following the pair of wins. They are next scheduled to take the field when they travel to face Saint Mary's College on Wednesday, April 13 for their second MIAA doubleheader of the season. The Belles currently sit at 6-7 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play, but are scheduled to play both Monday and Tuesday leading up to their games against the Thunder.
