SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University softball team swept a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the University of Dallas (TX) on Saturday afternoon, clinching a three-game weekend series sweep as well with 11-3 and 10-2 victories.
The Tigers improved to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play with the wins, while the Crusaders fell to 2-10 and 2-7 in SCAC. Dallas took the early lead by scoring runs in the first innings of both games, but Trinity's bats were too much to handle, hammering out 36 total hits in 12 innings – including 12 doubles.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) picked up the win in game one to improve to 3-2 this season, allowing three runs – just two earned – on four hits over four innings of work.
Cameron Bishop (Austin, Texas / Austin) struck out three batters over two shutout innings to finish off the win.
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) started game two and gave up two runs on two hits before giving way to
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks). Arce improved to 2-1 after tossing four shutout innings and allowing just one hit. She also picked up her 200th career strikeout, joining an elite group of just eight other Trinity pitchers to reach the milestone.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) piled up a team-best five hits on the day, going 5-for-7 in the doubleheader, scoring five runs and swiping five stolen bases.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) went 4-for-4 in the first game alone, finishing the day with four RBI and a run scored.
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) had a pinch-hit double to score two runs in the first game, then went 2-for-3 with another double in the second.
Peyton Bowser (Arvada, Colo. / West) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the opener, while
Leah Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas / East Central),
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom), and
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) finished with two hits in each game.
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) scored three runs, stole two bases, and went 3-for-4 at the plate.
Sydney Watson (San Antonio, Texas / San Antonio Christian) contributed three hits, three runs scored, and four RBI – three of which came in game two.
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) had two doubles on the day, scoring two runs and adding three RBI.
The Rundown, Game 1:
After managing just one run on two hits in last night's series opener, Dallas came out with two hits and two runs scored in the first inning of game one, putting the Tigers behind for the first time this weekend. Trinity responded nicely, though, tying the game with a three-hit inning. Tagawa walked and stole second, then Whitacre bunted her way on base to put runners at the corners. The Tiger speedsters then executed the double steal to make it a 2-1 game. Whitacre stole third after the first out of the inning, then came in to score on Lee's first of four hits on the day. Gonzalez nearly doubled in a third run to put Trinity in front, but a play at the plate left the game tied 2-2 after one.
Koelewyn got a 1-2-3 second inning and the Tiger offense was quickly back to work with a leadoff single from Bowser. Baltzell doubled to put runners at second and third with just one out. Tagawa walked again to load the bases and Whitacre drove in the go-ahead run on a ground out to short, but Dallas escaped further damage after tracking down a long fly ball off the bat of Boudreaux. Another short inning for Dallas gave Trinity a shot to add on more, but a line drive double play erased a leadoff single by Lee.
A single by the Crusaders in the fourth broke up a streak of eight straight batters retired for Koelewyn, then an error led to an unearned run to tie the game at 3-3. The Tigers were once again ready for an answer as Bowser and Watson both singled to start off the bottom of the fourth. Two batters later, Tagawa put Trinity back in front with an RBI double, then Garcia delivered a two-run pinch-hit double to make it 6-3 in favor of the Tigers. Lee drove in the final run of the inning and the lead was four runs heading into the fifth.
Bishop came on in relief in the fifth inning and Dallas quickly got the first two batters on base. Bishop got on track after that, following a strikeout with two ground balls to first to get out of the inning unscathed. The Tigers left two runners on base in the fifth and the game remained 7-3. After giving up a leadoff walk, Bishop got another ground ball out and then finished the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
Trinity doubled its lead with four runs on six hits in the bottom of the sixth, enacting the run-rule. Whitacre singled and stole second to get the wheels rolling and Boudreaux drove her in with a sharp single to left. Lee doubled in another run to make it 9-3, then Gonzalez singled through the left side of the infield two batters later to give the Tigers double digits. Bowser singled to put runners on the corners, then Watson ended the game with an RBI single to make it an 11-3 final.
The Rundown, Game 2
Dallas was back in the lead after one inning in game two, following a leadoff walk with a sac bunt, a stolen base, and a run-scoring single. Boudreaux crushed a two-out double in the bottom of the inning, but the Crusaders remained in control. A leadoff single eventually led to another run for the visitors in the second inning, as they executed a double steal to make it 2-0. Gonzalez and Del Toro singled for the Tigers in the bottom of the inning, but both were stranded as Trinity struggled to get the key hit.
Arce came in and retired the side in order in the third and that was just the spark the Tigers needed. Whitacre got another bunt single and a steal with one out in the bottom of the inning, then after an infield single put two runners on, it was another double steal to put both in scoring position. Lee drove in the first run of the game for the Tigers with her sac fly to center to make it 2-1.
The only hit allowed by Arce came with one out in the fourth, but the Tigers quickly erased that with an inning-ending double play to take back the momentum. Garcia started off what turned out to be a game-changing inning with a double down the right field line. An infield single then led to Watson's RBI ground out to tie the game, and two batters later, Tagawa put Trinity in front with a sac fly of her own to center field. Whitacre singled and Boudreaux walked to load the bases with two outs, then an error brought in two more Tiger runs to make it a 5-2 game before Dallas could get out of the inning.
Trinity added an insurance run on Whitacre's RBI single in the fifth, but the Tigers stranded a pair of runners to keep it a 6-2 game. Arce got the team fired up one more time in the top of the sixth as she struck out the side to pick up her 200th career strikeout and send the game to the bottom of the inning. After two outs to start the inning, Trinity's offense caught fire once again with four two-out hits to bring in four runs to end the game. Garcia doubled to start the rally, then Toro singled and stole second to set up Watson for a two-RBI single. A fielding error led to another run, then Tagawa slammed the door on the series with an RBI double to make it a 10-2 final.
Up Next
The Tigers are right back on the field tomorrow afternoon, hosting Howard Payne University (TX) in a non-conference doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m.
