MELBOURNE, Fla. –Trinity Softball has battled through a pair of one-run losses and two extra-inning defeats, picking up a win over locals New College on the opening day of their week-long Florida swing.
Siena Heights (Mich.) 6, Trinity 0
WP: Kieper • LP: Halmon (1-3)
The Saints would take an early lead in the 2nd inning, after a two-out walk followed by two-RBI double. Anna Lisa Fluder's throw from center field would get the third out at the plate to end the threat, but Siena Heights would add two more runs in the 3rd and another in the 4th for a 5-0 lead.
Trinity would place two runners on base in the 4th and 5th innings, taking advantage of three errors, but were unable to push a run across the plate.
Kamryn Koontz finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a double to lead the Trolls.
Trinity 9, New College (Fla.) 6
WP: Lorscheider (1-1) • LP: Rich
The Trolls would use a seven-run third inning to build up a big lead, before New College rallied back to close the gap in the second half of the game.
After scoring a 1st-inning run on an error, Trinity went off for seven runs on three hits and two errors in the bottom of the 3rd. The first seven batters would reach base, including three straight RBI walks, drawn by Koontz, Fluder, and Peyton Lowden. Caitlyn Hernandez followed up with a three-run double as the Trolls finished with an 8-0 run by the end of the frame.
New College would come back with two runs in the 4th and four more in the top of the 5th, but Halie LaGrange's 5th-inning double set the table for an RBI base hit from Koontz to add an insurance run. Katie Lorscheider would retire the last seven batters of the game to close out the win.
Erianna Claudio and Hernandez each finished with two base hits in the win; Claudio would score two runs while Hernandez finished with three RBI and a run scored. Lorscheider would strike out ten in a complete game for her first win of the season.
Cornerstone (Mich.) 3, Trinity 2 (9 inn.)
WP: Lubben • LP: Halmon (1-4)
A pitcher's duel that would see a combined 20 strikeouts between both teams, neither team would get a run across until the 9th inning.
Trinity would get a runner to third three different times without scoring, until the top of the 9th, when Koontz's one-out double would score LaGrange. After a wild pitch put another Troll at third, Fluder's groundout would score another run to give the Trolls a 2-0 advantage heading into the bottom half of the inning.
An error followed by an RBI single would give Cornerstone their first run of the day, before the Golden Eagles tied the game on a passed ball. The Trolls settled in to get the next two batters out, but Cornerstone would walk off with the win on an error.
Halmon would strike out nine batters over eight and two-thirds innings, working around three hits with just one earned run.
St. Thomas (Fla.) 10, Trinity 6 (8 inn.)
WP: Navarro • LP: Plapp (0-1)
HR: Simmons (1)
The Bobcats would come out with two runs in the top of the 1st, three more in the 4th, and another in the 5th to claim a 6-0 advantage before the Trolls responded in their next two trips to the plate.
Lowden would get the first hit of the game for the Trolls to lead off the bottom of the 5th, and would score on Ava Valk's RBI single. Later in the frame Alana Buchanan doubled to left, driving in Valk. After Halmon reached on an error that allowed Buchanan and Kylie Simmons to score, the Trolls had cut the St. Thomas lead to 6-4. In the bottom of the 6th, Simmons' two-out, two-run home run would tie the game at 6-6.
Both teams would be held scoreless in the 7th, but St. Thomas would break out in extra innings, scoring four runs on three hits in the top of the 8th. Fluder would reach on error to lead off the bottom of the 8th, but a double play would end the chance at a Trinity rally.
Simmins finished 2-for-3 in the game, with two RBI and two runs scored to go with her first home run as a Troll.
Webber International (Fla.) 6, Trinity 3
WP: McKinney • LP: Halmon (1-5)
Trinity jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st, after Claudio and Halmon led the game off with a pair of base hits. Koontz's ground out would score the leadoff second baseman, and Halmon would come home on Fluder's RBI single.
The home team would rally in the bottom of the 2nd, scoring three runs on four hits to take the 3-2 advantage. The Trolls would tie the game again in the top of the 5th, when Zoey Fleischauer drew a leadoff walk, and later scored on an error.
Webber International came back in the bottom half of the inning, with a bases-clearing three-run triple to go up 6-3.
Webber International 3, Trinity 2
WP: Schultze • LP: Lorscheider (1-2)
The home team would jump out to a 3-0 lead after the 1st inning, before the Trolls responded with a 3rd-inning rally. LaGrange would double to center, then come home on an error to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Trinity were held scoreless for the next three innings, with just one baserunner over the 4th, 5th, and 6th. Fleischauer's one-out single led to a run on an error later in the 7th, but the Trolls were unable to get the tying run on the board in their last at-bat.
The Trolls continue the Florida swing this week, with four more games. Trinity takes on Huntington (Ind.) and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) on Thursday, March 6, and close out their trip on Friday, March 7 by matching up with Cleary (Mich.) and Marian (Ind.).
