ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University softball team dropped the first half of their doubleheader against Calvin University, but finished the day with a win before celebrating a highly decorated senior class.
Game one started well for the Thunder, if a bit slowly on offense compared to recent contests. Karley Trine had a home run in the bottom of the first to give the team a 1-0 lead, that became a 2-0 lead in the third when Debbie Hill followed suit. On the other side of the frames, Kami Arnett started the game strong in the circle, holding the Knights off the board through three innings.
It all went off the rails in the fourth when Calvin plated four runs. They put four on the board in both the fifth and sixth innings. Keelin Wheaton and Jo Trine each had RBI hits later in the game, but it wasn't enough to hold of an early finish. The Knights won the game 13-4 in six innings, marking the first run-rule loss at home by the Thunder in five years.
The Thunder offense came out on a vengeance in the second game of the day. The first four batters reached base and scored. Whitney Duell led off with a single and scored when Jo Trine doubled down the rightfield line. Tyra Marcum followed up with a RBI double of her own, before Hill cleared the bases with her second home run of the day.
Sydney Adolfson took to the circle in the bottom half of the first, and it was less than a stellar start. She allowed a pair of runs, only one earned, on three hits and an error, before settling down and finishing the inning. Following the hiccups she pitched a strong game. Through the final six innings she pitched a shutout. She finished the game allowing ten hits but walking none and striking out a pair. The win was her ninth of the season.
The offense continued to build on the lead. Emma Lee had a solo homer in the third to make the score 5-2. Clare Feehan brought in a run and scored on a myriad of errors in the sixth inning, making the score 7-2. Marcum, Hill and Lee each had an RBI in the seventh to reach the final score of 10-2.
Hill's final RBI of the day was a historic one. It was the 207th of her career at Trine, setting the new record for the program.
The Thunder finish the day 26-2 overall and 11-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) after the split. The team will travel to face Alma College when they next take the field. That doubleheader is scheduled for Thursday, April 30 with game one set to start at 3 p.m.
