GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Trinity University softball team split a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Southwestern University (TX) on Saturday afternoon, following a 5-4 loss with a 9-4 series-clinching win.
The Tigers (24-7, 17-4 SCAC) opened the series with the Pirates (13-5, 11-7 SCAC) with a 13-5 win in six innings last night. Combined with last year's three-game regular season series sweep against Southwestern, Trinity has now won the regular season series in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2015 and 2016. Southwestern broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the fifth to take the opening game, then Trinity jumped in front 6-2 after four innings and ran away with the series finale.
Cameron Bishop (Austin, Texas / Austin) took the loss in relief in game one, falling to 1-1 on the season.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) snagged the win in game two to improve to 12-2 after a four-inning outing.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) picked up a three-inning save (her first of the year) to close out the win.
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) tied a school record with six RBI in the second game, going 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two runs scored. She is the seventh Tiger player to record six RBI in a game and the first since 2012.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) and
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) had three hits each in the opening game and Del Toro also had two RBI.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) was 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the second game, while Del Toro,
Abigail Miller (Winnetka, Calif. / El Camino Real) and
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) all had two hits each.
The Rundown, Game 1
Trinity started the day with a pair of hits and a walk to load the bases, threatening to score in the first inning of the doubleheader. Southwestern got out of the jam with an inning-ending double play, though, and then capitalized with an RBI double in the bottom half of the first to take a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers responded quickly with a strong second inning, recording a pair of two-out hits to drive in runs and take a 2-1 lead. Del Toro singled and stole second, then moved to third on a fly out. Baltzell then doubled home the tying run, which was followed with another RBI hit from
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) to take the lead. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Pirates were also quick to respond in the bottom of the second. Southwestern took advantage of a Trinity error to score two unearned runs and reclaim the lead, 3-2.
Del Toro continued to deliver for Trinity in the third, smashing a double down the left field line to score Miller – who had just come through with a pinch-hit single to set up the scoring play. The double tied the game up 3-3 and Southwestern stranded two runners in the bottom of the inning to keep the game level. After a 1-2-3 fourth for Trinity, Southwestern pulled back in front with a run in the bottom half. The Tigers were lucky to escape with just one run allowed as the Pirates had three hits and a walk in the inning. Trinity threw out a runner at home to keep it a 4-3 game, then got another ground ball to close out the inning.
Lee and
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) had back-to-back singles to set up Del Toro in the fifth, and she once again came through with an RBI double to tie the game 4-4. However, the Pirates were up to the challenge once again, scoring the eventual game-winning run with a bases-loaded walk to take the 5-4 lead. The Tigers were not able to score again, though they did have the tying run on base in the sixth and seventh.
The Rundown, Game 2
Trinity took the lead just two batters into the second game as Boudreaux began her historic game with a solo home run. Southwestern tied the game in the bottom of the second with an unearned run, but the Tigers avoided further trouble with an inning-ending double play. Boudreaux got her second RBI in the third as she doubled to bring in Del Toro, who led off the inning with a single up the middle. Trinity loaded the bases as Lee and Miller both walked after that, then Koelewyn helped her own cause by getting hit with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run. Lee then scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1, though the Tigers did leave the bases loaded in the inning.
After Southwestern cut into the lead with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third, Trinity's offense knocked in two more runs to take the lead up to 6-2. No surprise as to who got things started as Boudreaux drove in her third run in her third at-bat to make it 5-2. Lee followed with another RBI single to account for the second score of the inning.
Arce came on in relief to start the fifth inning and Southwestern combined two more hits and a walk with a wild pitch to make it 6-3. The Pirates added another run in the sixth after a Tiger error brought in an unearned run to make it 6-4. The Tigers needed a big momentum shift in the seventh inning and got it with three runs on five hits to take a comfortable lead into the final frame.
Leah Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas / East Central) started things off with a pinch-hit single that was followed by a bunt single from Del Toro. Whitacre got an infield single to load the bases after a fly out, bringing up Boudreaux. If you're counting from home, you know what comes next. She crushed a double down the line in left field, scoring all three baserunners to make it a 9-4 game, and tie the Trinity school record with her sixth RBI of the game. That was all the shift needed for Arce, who got a 1-2-3 inning to finish off the weekend.
Up Next
Trinity will be back on the road next weekend, taking on Schreiner University (TX) in a three-game SCAC series that begins on Friday, April 4, at 6:00 p.m. The teams play a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
