ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University softball team opened their NCAA Division III Softball Championship Regional with a comfortable victory over the fourth-seeded University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. The Thunder won 8-3 against the visiting Bobcats.
The home offense went to work early in the contest, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Three of the first four Thunder who stepped into the batters' box reach safely, loading the bases for Macy Rocha. The junior brought in two runs with a single through the middle of the infield.
Debbie Hill took to the circle for Trine as the starter and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. She set down the first six Bobcats in order before walking the first batter of the third and then allowing a pair of hits in the fourth, with the second scoring the first run of the day for Pitt.-Greensburg.
After a quiet second inning, the Thunder bats went back to work in the third. Hill gave herself some early breathing room with a homer to left center as the leadoff of the inning. After Rocha followed up with a double, Kennedy Huckeby recorded an RBI with a double to left field before scoring on a single from Ainsley Phillips later in the inning. The three runs made the score 5-0, before the Bobcats got their first run in the fourth for a 5-1 score.
Emma Lee reached on a walk to lead off the bottom of that inning, before making her 30th steal of the season to reach second. After moving to third on a groundout, she reached home on a sacrifice fly to left field by Hill.
Lauren Clausen entered the game in relief for the fifth inning and finished the rest of the contest. She posted a quick first inning, setting down three straight batters, including a pair of pinch hit attempts by Pitt.-Greensburg.
The Thunder threatened to walk off the game in the fifth inning. Whitney Duell came up with the first RBI of the inning with a single right back to the pitcher, advancing to third on an errant throw to first. That let Lee bring in another run with an error by the left fielder on a flyball. The Bobcats ended the inning there, with the score 8-1 in favor of the home side.
The visitors strung together a walk and two hits to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, cutting into the deficit again with an 8-3 score heading into the final inning. Clausen finally settled into pitching for the seventh, striking out the side to end the game with that score.
Hill records the win, her 11th of the season. She allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out six. Clausen's relief effort ended with two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out four. The Thunder improve to 37-5 overall after the win.
"On a scale of ten I would put that game at about a five," said Head Coach Donnie Danklefsen after the game, "We've got to pick up our energy tomorrow and be smarter on the bases. I think tomorrow we will play a lot better."
Second-seeded Baldwin Wallace University dominated the other game of the day, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 13-3 in five innings to also advance in the winners' side of the regional bracket. The Yellow Jackets will serve as home team when they face Trine in the first game of the second day of the tournament. That contest is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, May 16. Pitt.-Greensburg and Wis.-Eau Claire will then battle in the opening elimination game at 1:30 p.m. with the winner facing the loser of the morning game at 4 p.m. to finish off the day.
