SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University Softball begins the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule Friday afternoon (4:00 p.m.) with the first of a three-game series at Southwestern University.
The Tigers (2-14) took No. 25 Piedmont University (GA) to the ropes last weekend, but dropped both sides of the doubleheader despite late scoring chances. Trinity has had eight run-ins with teams ranked in the top-25 of NCAA III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, including a 3-1 victory at No. 18 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the doubleheader's first game.
Following next weekend's visit to Schreiner University, Trinity Softball returns to San Antonio March 28 for the first two of six straight home games, hosting Wellesley College (MA), DePauw University (IN) and the first home SCAC series, Centenary College (LA).
Preview: Pirates on Deck
Trinity's offense is led by sophomore
Jessie Lloyd (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Trabuco Hills) with a .333 batting average, .400 on-base percentage and is tied for team highs of 16 hits and three doubles, with junior
Marina Delaluna (Concord, Calif. / Concord) and first-year
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound), respectively.
Three Tigers have earned starts in the circle this season, a trio led by senior
Emery Boettcher (Fredericksburg, Texas / Fredericksburg) with 36 innings pitched. Boettcher's last appearance—the second game against Piedmont—netted 5.2 innings with just five hits to two runs. Junior
Bella Gutierrez (Devine, Texas / Devine) broke into the starting mix with a complete-game shutout of Hanover College (IN) on March 3.
On the Pirates: Southwestern welcomes Trinity to Taylor Sanders Field Friday having swept its last doubleheader against Eureka College (IL) to improve to 7-12 for the season, with sweeps of Hanover and Howard Payne University and an eight-inning affair at LeTourneau University in its win column.
Since the start of the 2012 season, the Pirates and Tigers have an even split, 23-23, in the series. Southwestern claimed last season's series, though Trinity came away with a 5-3 game-three victory to salvage the weekend, by season's end, retain the conference's third seed in the 2022 SCAC Championship tournament.
The Pirate bats are led by sophomore Calle Collier, March 6's SCAC Hitter of the Week recipient, with a .340 batting average with a team-high 17 hits, seven of which have resulted in extra bases. Collier's league weekly honor came through her team's sweep of Hanover where she tallied four RBI and crossed the plate three times.
Southwestern's starting arms, sophomore Madison Vela and junior Hailey Arrington, combine for a 6.10 earned-run average over 88.1 innings this season.
Looking Ahead
Trinity Softball plays its final non-conference games March 28-30, hosting visits from Wellesley and DePauw for the first three of its upcoming six-homestand March 28-April 2.
The Tigers have one team left on the schedule currently ranked nationally: No. 4 Texas Lutheran University. The reigning SCAC Champion will visit San Antonio for a three-game league series April 14-15.
The 2023 SCAC Championship tournament will be hosted by Trinity, May 5-7, at the newly renovated TU Softball Field.
