SEGUIN, Texas – Trinity's second-seeded softball team opened up its part in the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-2 win over defending champion and #3 seed University of St. Thomas on Friday night.
The win is the 30th of the season for the Tigers (30-11), which is a new program record. The previous record was originally set when Trinity had 29 wins in 2001, then the mark was tied in 2006. Trinity and St. Thomas (23-13) have now split four meetings this season, after the Celts won two out of three games during the regular season.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) and
Heather Nugent (Huntingdon Beach, Calif. / Marina) combined to allow just four hits in the game. Arce improved to 15-5 in the circle, while Nugent collected her fourth save of the year.
Six different Tiger batters had a hit in the game, with three different players also driving in the three runs scored. All of the scoring for Trinity came in the bottom of the second, which began with Arce reaching on a bunt single to lead things off. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, then scored on an RBI single by
Peyton Bowser (Arvada, Colo. / West).
Sydney Watson (San Antonio, Texas / San Antonio Christian) followed Bowser's hit with a double into left field, then
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) brought in another run with a single to left that made it 2-0.
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura Hills) then bunted to score Watson from third as the throw home was not in time.
Arce held the Celts scoreless until the fifth, stringing together three hits in a span of four batters – the last of which was a two-run double to shrink the margin to 3-2. Arce got out of the jam with the lead still intact, though, and Nugent came in to close out. Nugent retired the first five batters she faced, then allowed a seventh-inning single that put the tying run aboard. Undeterred, she induced a game-ending ground out to first and the Tigers advanced.
Up Next
Trinity will face top seed and tournament host Texas Lutheran University in the winner's bracket game at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. The winner moves on to the SCAC Championship game on Sunday, while the losing team will play again later in the day.
