ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University softball team advanced to the winners side of the bracket in their regional of the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. They defeated Earlham College 10-2 in five innings.
The Thunder took the lead in the bottom of the first with a solo shot from Tyra Marcum. A sacrifice fly from Clare Feehan made it 2-0 in the second. Emma Lee and Feehan had back-to-back homers in the third to build that lead to 6-0. Lee's homer was worth three runs while Feehan had a solo hit.
Sydney Adolfson made the start in the circle for Trine and took a three-hit shutout into the fifth inning. The Quakers scored their first playoff runs in program history in the fifth, one on a groundout and the other on a double to cut the deficit to 6-2.
Trine responded in the bottom of the fifth with four runs, all coming with two outs recorded. Kennedy Huckeby started the rally with a pinch hit two-run homer, before Whitney Duell and Karley Trine finished the game with back-to-back RBI hits.
Adolfson finished the game allowing two runs on six hits while striking out a pair.
In the other game of the day, Loras College defeated the University of Rochester (N.Y.) 14-6. The Duhawks scored eight runs in the top of the sixth inning, breaking up a tie and finishing the game early by run-rule.
The Thunder will now face Loras in the winners' side of the bracket tomorrow, Friday, May 15. That game is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. with the Duhawks serving as the home team on the scoreboard. Earlham and Rochester will face in the second game of the day, set to start at 1:30 p.m. with the loser becoming the first eliminated team of the regional. A second elimination game will be played as the third game of the period, with a scheduled first pitch of 4 p.m.
