ANGOLA, Ind. – A pair of five-run wins were enough to secure the 2022 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Softball Tournament Championship for Trine University. The team secures a berth in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship with the victories and will learn the details of their opening round on Monday, May 9 at 1 p.m. during the 2022 selection show.
The first game of the day against Calvin University started wildly. The first pitch of the day struck junior Ellie Trine (Kokomo, Ind. / Kokomo) sending her to first. Senior Taylor Murdock (Lapel, Ind. / Lapel) would reach next on a bunt single and Ellie Trine would advance to third on a throwing error. Senior Ashley Swartout (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) would then load the bases when the Knights' first baseman held the runner at third and couldn't get back to first in time.
Junior Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) came to the plate with bases still loaded but two outs on the board. She would hit the ball toward the charging second baseman and the stadium would watch as the spin on the ball made it bounce directly to the right and away from the defenseman. The wild single would score a pair of runs.
The bases would load up again on a walk and junior Anna Gill (Ashville, Ohio / Teays Valley) would hit a more conventional single through the left side of the infield scoring two more runs for the team.
A single for freshman Ainsley Phillips in the next at-bat loaded the bases again bringing the top of the order back to the plate. Ellie Trine would hit the ball hard toward the shortstop who chose to throw the ball to second rather than first, but wasn't fast enough to record the out. Trine scored the RBI as freshman Emma Beyer (Rochester, Mich. / Stoney Creek) reached home on the play.
Calvin finally escaped the inning with a strikeout of the next batter, but the Thunder would lead 5-0 going into the bottom of the inning.
The lead was more than enough with sophomore Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) in the circle for Trine. Fresh off being named the 2022 MIAA Pitcher of the Year, Rosey posted another impressive start. She would go seven shutout innings allowing just four hits while striking out 13 batters, all on swinging strike threes.
The 5-0 victory would advance the team to the championship game where they would await the winner of an elimination game between Hope College and Calvin. The Flying Dutch would come out on top of the Knights by the score of 9-6 to face off with the Thunder, needing two wins to take the championship, while Trine would just need one.
Junior Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) got the start in the circle for the team and began the game with a great first inning, striking out a pair while holding the opposition without a baserunner.
Ellie Trine reached base on a single to left center to start the bottom half of the inning. Murdock moved her to second on a sacrifice bunt and Swartout would bring her home with a single, giving the team an early 1-0 lead.
Trine added to their lead in the bottom of the second. The team worked the bases loaded with a single and a pair of walks. Murdock would then score a run on a single to left field and senior Mercede Daugherty (Watervliet, Mich. / Watervliet) would bring in another on a sacrifice fly.
Both teams would go scoreless in the third inning, but Hope would begin to find contact against Koeppl, recording their second hit of the game and making solid contact in their other three at-bats. They would get their third single in the fourth and threaten again, but Koeppl battle out of the jam to keep the shutout through the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth the Thunder added a run to their lead. The team worked the bases loaded again, this time on a single, a walk and a hit by pitch. Daugherty would then bring in the run with a single to left field making the score 4-0.
Sophomore Elizabeth Koch (Franklin, Wis. / Franklin) took over the pitching duties to start the fifth, but struggled to find the strike zone loading the bases on two singles and a walk forcing a second change in the circle. Classmate Lauren Clausen (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove) would take over. She forced a groundout to start and then struck out the final two batters of the inning to escape the jam allowing just one run.
The team responded again in the bottom of the inning. Prather would lead the inning off with a double and then move to second on a bunt single from Beyer, leaving runners at the corners. As Beyer began to steal second trying to force a mistake, the pitcher through a wild pitch past the catcher. Prather, already prepared to steal home, scored easily as the ball reached the backstop and Beyer would advance to third. Gill would then bring home Beyer with a sacrifice fly ball to centerfield.
The Flying Dutch were stymied in the sixth inning with Clausen forcing a fly out and two backward K's, but in the seventh the team would threaten to extend the game. After the leadoff batter struck out, Hope would record a double, a walk and a single to load the bases with just the lone out on the board. Clausen settled back in and struck out the next batter before forcing another fly out to end the game with Trine ahead 6-1.
Clausen and Koeppl combined for nine strikeouts in the game, with Clausen recording an impressive six in just three innings of work.
The Thunder improve to 27-11 as they secured the championship and the berth to the NCAA championship. Be sure to check www.trinethunder.com for information on where they team will play in the opening round of the tournament.
