ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University softball team will play for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Championship despite dropping their first contest of the day to Adrian College. The Thunder won their way back to the championship by defeating Hope College, 5-2, in the night cap of day two of the tournament.
Trine opened the day against the two-seeded Bulldogs, serving as the visiting team on the scoreboard. The Thunder scored the first run of the game in their opening at-bats with Macy Rocha coming up with a single that brought Tyra Marcum home from second.
The next two innings went to the opposition. Adrian scored one run in second inning on a solo homer by Peyton Russell. They followed up with a big third inning that saw them score six runs and chase Debbie Hill from the circle. Lauren Clausen took over at the stripe and eventually settled the game, holding the Bulldogs scoreless through the next two innings.
The Thunder chipped away at the lead in the fifth. Marcum and Hill both had RBI-singles making the score 7-3. Then in the top of the sixth, Emma Lee legged out a groundball to the pitcher, allowing Keelin Wheaton to reach home. In the next at bat, Marcum tied the game at seven, putting the ball over the centerfield fence for a home run.
Adrian's first batter of the sixth inning reached on a single and Alexis Michon relieved Clausen. Michon recorded two straight outs before giving up a single that gave the Bulldogs the lead at 8-7. Clausen owned the scoring runner and became the pitcher of record after the regular season runners-up closed out the upset with a shutout in the seventh inning.
The loss ends a 28-game winning streak for Trine and a 30-game unbeaten streak against MIAA opponents dating back to April 13, 2024. It also sent the Thunder to the elimination side of the tournament bracket while the Bulldogs went straight to the championship game. In the second game of the day, the Flying Dutch eliminated Calvin University and set the Game 5 matchup at 4 p.m.
Trine earned the right to serve as home team for the game and sent Clausen back to the circle for the top of the first. She struck out the first two batters and left that inning scoreless. Hill put the first runs on the board in the bottom of the inning, with a home run to center field that plated a pair.
Hope started to find success against Clausen in the top of the second, eventually scoring a run and then loading the bases all with two outs. For the second time Michon entered in relief, this time recording a strikeout to end the threat, still with the lead.
Ainsley Phillips grounded out with Wheaton on third to make the deficit two again with a 3-1 score. The Flying Dutch responded by taking advantage of an error by following it up with a single to left center, making the score 3-2.
From there Michon settled in allowing just four more hits in the contest and avoiding any scoring threats until the seventh inning. The Thunder, on the other hand, added insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth. Phillips had a sacrifice fly and then Whitney Duell forced an error that scored a second run making the score 5-2.
The Flying Dutch did record two of their final hits in the seventh inning, threatening with the tying run at the plate. The Thunder ended the threat with a flyout to left field. Michon finished with the win, her 18th of the season, on the back of five strikeouts.
The Thunder finish the day 34-5. They will need a pair of wins against the Bulldogs tomorrow, Friday, May 9 to secure the MIAA Tournament Title and an automatic berth in the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The first game is scheduled for noon with a second game following at 2:30 p.m. should Trine win.
