LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Trine University softball team stayed put in the latest edition of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll after finishing the week with a quartet of lopsided victories including consecutive perfect games by the pitching staff.
The top seven spots in the poll remained unchanged, with Salisbury University, Christopher Newport University, Texas Lutheran University and Berry College all remaining ahead of the Thunder. Linfield University and Case Western Reserve University remained just behind Trine.
The Thunder secured four wins during the week with a combined 38-0 margin of victory. The wins came in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play against Olivet College and Albion College.
Highlighting the week were a pair of perfect performances by Trine pitchers. In the second game against Olivet, junior Lauren Clausen secured the second perfect game in program history facing just 15 batters as the team secured an 8-0 run-rule victory. Trine had already won the first game of the doubleheader by the score of 13-0.
Then in the first game against Albion freshman Debbie Hill did it again, facing just 15 batters on the way to the third perfect game in program history. The team won the game 9-0 in five innings and Hill recorded eight strikeouts in the contest. The second game wound up being an 8-0 victory in six innings to finish off the week.
Trine returns to action tomorrow, Wednesday, April 19 when they host Calvin University. The doubleheader is set to start at 3 p.m. and will be played at SportONE/Parkview Field.