IRVING, Texas – The Tiger softball team opened up this weekend's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series on the road with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Dallas (TX) on Friday evening.
Trinity won the opener 10-1 in just five innings, then scored five runs in the final two innings to complete the sweep. The Tigers improved to 18-9 this season with the win and take a slim lead for second place in the conference standings with a 6-2 record. Dallas is 0-8 in SCAC and just 3-18 overall this season.
The Tigers scored twice in each of the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead in the opening game, then added four more runs in the top of the fifth to set up the possible run-rule. Dallas broke up the shutout with a run in the bottom of the inning, but Trinity held on to end the game after five innings.
The second game saw Dallas take the lead with a run in the second inning, while also holding Trinity's offense at bay for the first five innings. The Tigers tied the game with a run in the sixth, then scored four more times in the seventh to take control of the game. Trinity finished off Dallas three-up, three-down in the bottom of the inning to complete the win.
In the first game of the day,
Sydney Watson (San Antonio, Texas / San Antonio Christian) and
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) had three hits and two runs each, while
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) had two hits and three RBI.
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura Hills) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored as Trinity hammered out 14 total hits in the shortened game.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) improved to 10-4 from the circle this season, pitching 4.0 shutout innings in game one, during which she allowed just two hits and struck out five batters.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) pitched 5.0 shutout innings in relief of game two, allowing just one hit and one walk to improve to 2-2 this season.
The Rundown: Game 1
Tagawa reached on an error and Watson singled to start the opening game and put runners on the corners. Both players completed a double steal to score the first run, then Watson scored on a ground out by Boudreaux to make it 2-0. The Tigers added to the lead in the second with a two-out rally that was started by Baltzell's single up the middle. Tagawa singled and moved into scoring position on the play, then Watson drove in both runners to make it 4-0 after two innings.
Meanwhile, Arce was able to relax with the lead and gave up just one hit over the first two innings.
Jordyn Williams (Clayton, Calif. / Clayton Valley Charter) singled to open up the third inning for the Tigers, then scored on a double by
Marina Delaluna (Concord, Calif. / Concord).
Peyton Bowser (Arvada, Colo. / West) made it 6-0 with her RBI single to short.
The Tigers had five hits to score four runs in the fifth to make it a 10-0 lead. Bowser started the inning with her second hit of the game, then Baltzell got a hit of her own and both players moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Tagawa smashed a double to right-center to drive in both runs, then Watson put runners on the corners with another hit. Boudreaux had a double of her own to right-center to score two more runs.
Heather Nugent (Huntingdon Beach, Calif. / Marina) came on to pitch the fifth for the Tigers and Dallas got the first two runners on base against her. After getting the first out on an infield pop-up, Nugent induced a ground ball that ended up in an error to load the bases. After another pop fly on the infield, Dallas drew a walk to get on the board with an unearned run. Nugent got a game-ending fly out to center, stranding all three runners to keep the run-rule intact.
The Rundown: Game 2
Trinity had the first chance to take the lead in the second inning, as Williams led off the inning with a double down the right field line. She advanced to third on a ground out to the right side of the infield, then was headed for home on a sac fly attempt by Delaluna. Instead of taking the early lead, though, Williams was thrown out at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
Dallas came up with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, scoring on an error after three walks loaded the bases. The Tigers got out of the inning with just the one run allowed, but Trinity's offense couldn't get a runner past first base over the next three innings.
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) singled to start the sixth inning, which was just the second hit of the game for the Tigers. Baltzell moved her up to second with a sac bunt, and Tagawa walked to put two runners on base. The two players stole second and third, setting up an RBI ground out by Watson to tie the game.
Williams walked to start the final inning, then Arce came on to run for her as the potential go-ahead run. An error on a sac bunt put runners on the corners for the Tigers, then Delaluna put Trinity in front with a single to center. After Delaluna moved to second on the second out of the inning, Baltzell came through with a two-run single to double Trinity's run total. Tagawa then finished off the prolific inning with an RBI single of her own to make it 5-1. Koelewyn got three quick ground ball outs in the bottom of the inning to finish off the game.
Up Next
Trinity and Dallas will conclude the series with a single game on Saturday, beginning at 12:00 p.m.
