ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University softball team swept visiting Hope College, securing the program's 14th Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships. It is the sixth straight season that the team has won the regular season title.
The Thunder won at-least a share of the title by winning the first game of the day 4-1, which featured strong pitching by both teams. Alexis Michon continued her terrific final season by taking a shutout into the sixth inning. She ultimately allowed just one run on four hits while striking out eight in the win.
Hope's top pitcher held the potent Trine offense to just six hits but walked an additional three batters. The Thunder strong together an error and a walk in the bottom of the second to bring Ainsley Phillips to the plate with a runner in scoring position. The senior catcher capitalized with a double that scored the first run of the game. Whitney Duell had a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat to make the score 2-0.
Trine recorded two more hits in the bottom of the third to double their lead. After two quick strikeouts, Macy Rocha singled through the right side to extend the inning. Emma Lee followed up with a line drive homer over the left field fence, giving the team the 4-0 lead.
The Flying Dutch had a home run of their own in the top of the sixth to score their only run of the game.
The script flipped for the second game of the day, with the two teams combining for 17 runs and 24 hits. Trine still came out on top, overcoming two tie scores late in the contest for the 10-7 victory.
The Thunder struck first getting a pair of runs in the first inning. Lee came up with her second homer of the day, another line drive over the left field fence, for the first run while Rocha followed up with an RBI single later in the inning. Lee scored another run in the third, scampering home from second on an RBI single from Debbie Hill.
Defensively, Hill made the start in the circle for the team and took a shutout into the fourth inning. In the bottom of that inning, Hope tied the game with three runs, before the junior got out of the jam.
Hill helped herself, retaking the lead in the fifth with a leadoff home run. Emma Beyer and Kennedy Huckeby each added RBI hits while Lee added a fourth run on a sacrifice fly. Trine took the 7-4 lead before recording the third out.
The Flying Dutch responded again in the bottom of the inning. First, they scored a pair of runs on an RBI double before tying the game with a two-run homer in the next at-bat.
With the score tied 7-7 in the top of the seventh, the Thunder found themselves down to their last out of regular innings. Phillips came up big with a hit to right field that just made it over the wall for the solo homer, that also kept the inning going for the top of the order. Duell drew a walk, bringing the red-hot Lee back to the plate. The junior hit her third, almost identical, home run over the left field fence to give the team two insurance runs with the 10-7 lead.
Lauren Clausen, who had entered the game in relief during the fifth inning, finished off the game with three more outs in the bottom of the seventh to earn her fifth win of the season. She ended the game with two and two-thirds innings of work, allowing just one hit while striking out four.
Lee was the offensive standout for the day. She finished the two games five-for-five with six RBIs on three homers and two singles. She also added a pair of stolen bases and the sacrifice fly.
The team improves to 30-4 overall and 14-0 in MIAA play. In addition to securing the MIAA championship the team reaches 30 wins for the sixth season in a row. They will finish the regular season when they travel to face Albion College on Sunday, May 4. That doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. With the championship, the team can also add the MIAA Tournament to their home slate. They will host the three-day tournament which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 7.
