PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. & JOLIET, Ill. — The Trinity Christian College softball team faced the University of St. Francis (Ill.) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference three-game series Friday (March 20) and Saturday (March 21). The Fighting Saints swept the series, winning 13-3 in six innings Friday, followed by 4-3 and 6-5 victories Saturday.
TEAM RECORDS
St. Francis (Ill.) 17-7, 3-0 CCAC | Trinity Christian 5-14, 0-3 CCAC
GAME 1: St. Francis (Ill.) 13, Trinity Christian 3 (6 innings)
St. Francis opened the scoring by crossing the plate five times in the first three innings to take a 5-0 lead. Trinity Christian responded in the bottom of the third when Ashley Plapp delivered a two-run double to left-center, scoring Alana Harlow and Jessica Pleckham.
The Trolls added another run when Harlow reached on an error, allowing Ariana Ikis to score, but that would be all the offense for TCC. The Fighting Saints plated five runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to extend the lead to 13-3, which held as the final score.
GAME 2: St. Francis (Ill.) 4, Trinity Christian 3
St. Francis scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning, which proved to be enough. Trinity Christian answered with two runs in the fourth after Caitlin Hernandez ripped a two-run double, scoring Lauryn Packard and Peyton Lowden.
The Trolls pulled within one in the fifth when Lowden drove in Pleckham with an RBI double to make it 4-3. However, St. Francis shut out Trinity Christian over the final two innings to secure the win.
GAME 3: St. Francis (Ill.) 6, Trinity Christian 5 (9 innings)
St. Francis struck early with two runs in the first inning and added another in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Trinity Christian answered in the third when Anna Lisa Fluder launched a three-run home run to left-center, scoring Plapp and Lowden to tie the game at 3-3.
The Fighting Saints regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the third, but the Trolls evened the score in the sixth when Alexa Chapman grounded out, bringing home Fluder.
After a scoreless seventh inning forced extras, Fluder drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to score Packard and give Trinity Christian a 5-4 lead. St. Francis responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, walking off with a 6-5 victory.
UP NEXT
Trinity Christian returns to action for a three-game series against Saint Xavier on Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25. The teams will play a doubleheader in Palos Heights on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m., followed by a single game at Saint Xavier on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT.
