SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University Softball continues its season-opening road swing this weekend with visits to No. 13 East Texas Baptist University (Sat.) and LeTourneau University (Sun.).
The Tigers (0-4) were on the wrong side of four straight one-run losses in last weekend's trip to Abilene, Texas, falling in a pair of pitchers' duels at McMurry University, then a nine-inning slugfest at Hardin-Simmons University to open the doubleheader with the Cowgirls.
In her collegiate debut against the Warhawks, first-year
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) collected a complete game allowing just two hits and one unearned run through six innings while tossing just 81 pitches. Senior
Emery Boettcher (Fredericksburg, Texas / Fredericksburg) had a shutout of her own in the works against Hardin-Simmons through the first five innings allowing just three hits and a walk but was not able to keep the Cowgirls off the board late.
Trinity Softball will battle four programs ranked in the preseason top-25 of NCAA III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) before the start of the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule at Southwestern University March 17.
Preview: East Texas Baptist (Feb. 18), LeTourneau (Feb. 19)
On the Marshall Tigers: East Texas Baptist finished the 2022 campaign ranked 15
th in NCAA III by the NFCA after falling out of its home NCAA III Regional in three games; the Tigers had entered the NCAA postseason No. 7 in the final NFCA regular season poll.
ETBU returns the bulk of its strong hitting lineup from last season including all four players that started 40 or more games. The notable loss for the Tigers of the American Southwest Conference (ASC) is pitcher Kathryn Reed, who posted a 1.61 ERA and a .184 opposing batting average through 104.2 innings pitched.
Saturday will be ETBU's season-opener and just the second meeting between the two programs over the last nine seasons. Trinity last claimed victory over the blue-and-yellow Tigers in San Antonio on February 25, 2012.
On the Yellowjackets: LeTourneau also opens its 2023 campaign with Trinity on Sunday. Despite going 15-26 last season, the Yellowjackets were opportunistic last season in knocking off ASC foe then-No. 5 Belhaven University (MS), 2-0 along with a successful visit to Birmingham, Ala. that featured a 5-3 victory over then-No. 13 Mount St. Joseph University (IN) and a one-run loss to host then-No. 3 Birmingham-Southern College, 8-7.
The ASC named three LeTourneau Players to Watch in the preseason: Kylie Grisham, Hailee Leger and Murphy Williams. Grisham was an all-ASC third-team selection in 2022 with a .342 average and a 17-of-17 line in stolen bases; Leger posted a 2.48 ERA in 79 innings last season in 13 starts; Williams is an incoming transfer from NCAA I University of Louisiana at Monroe who made 62 pitching appearances over three seasons for the Warhawks.
The Tigers and Yellowjackets have matched up seven times over the last 20 years for a slim 4-3 series record in favor of Trinity. Last year's doubleheader in San Antonio produced a split as Boettcher came away with a victory with two perfect innings in relief to finish game one.
Looking Ahead: Tough Tests, Home-Opener
The early-season tests continue next weekend as Trinity Softball will pay a visit to No. 18 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Feb. 25) then return to San Antonio for the 2023 home-opener against No. 20 Babson College (Feb. 26).
The Tigers are also in line to battle No. 25 Piedmont University (March 11) prior to the start of conference play March 17 at Southwestern.
