SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader against Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday night, winning 12-0 and 13-3 in a pair of run-rule games.
The Tigers improved to 12-4 with the wins and extend the team's winning streak to seven straight games, while the Tartans fell to 1-5 this season with the two losses. Tonight marked the first meeting between the two schools.
The opening game of the evening was highlighted by a combined no-hitter by a pair of Tiger pitchers as
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) and
Heather Nugent (Huntington Beach, Calif. / Marina) stymied Carnegie Mellon over five innings. Arce (4-1) got the win by pitching the first three innings of the game, allowing just two baserunners on a walk and an error, and recording four strikeouts. Nugent pitched two perfect innings to close out the win. This is the second time this season that Trinity has pitched a no-hitter as
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) had one against Austin College. This is the first time since 2006 that the Tigers have had more than one no-hitter in a season, and this is the first time in school history that Trinity softball has had a combined no-hitter.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) and
Cameron Bishop (Austin, Texas / Austin) pitched game two of tonight's doubleheader, with Koelewyn getting the win to improve to 5-2 on the year. She allowed just one run on two hits over the first three innings of the game, striking out three batters. Bishop finished off the victory after giving up two runs on two hits and getting a strikeout in the final two innings.
Strong pitching was complemented nicely by an offense that racked up 25 runs on 31 hits over just eight total innings.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) and
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) had five hits each to lead the Tiger onslaught. Boudreaux had a double in each game, scoring three runs, and driving in five more. Lee doubled twice in the opening game, then went 3-for-3 with a triple in game two, tallying four runs scored and a team-best six RBI for the day.
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) scored a team-best five runs, picking up three hits and stealing three bases in the two games.
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two doubles on the day, while
Sydney Watson (San Antonio, Texas / San Antonio Christian) finished 3-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI.
Leah Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas / East Central) drove in a run with a pinch-hit double in the opener, then went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the finale.
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) also had two hits and scored twice in the first game, while Koelewyn added two hits and drove in a run to help her own cause in game two.
The Rundown, Game 1
Trinity got the scoring started almost immediately in the first game, plating four runs on three hits in the team's first opportunity of the day. Tagawa and
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) both singled and stole a base to get things going, then after Boudreaux walked to load the bases, Lee laced a two-run double down the left field line. Carnegie Mellon got two out of the next three batters out and looked to limit the damage, but Watson made them pay with another hit down the left field line to bring two more runners home for a 4-0 lead.
After batting around in the first inning, the Tigers were back at it in the second as Tagawa singled and stole second, then came home on a single by Boudreaux. Lee delivered an encore performance with another RBI double, then Garcia traded places with her teammate to make it a 7-0 lead. The Tartans were able to get out of that inning without any more trouble, but the damage had already been done as Arce and Nugent continued to keep the hitters off-balance.
Baltzell led off the third inning with a single and came around to score on Boudreaux's RBI double with two outs, pushing the lead to 8-0 after three innings. Nugent came in and worked a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, then came up with a sacrifice fly to help her cause and pad the lead. Garcia doubled to start the inning to set Nugent up for the RBI. Watson doubled with two outs to keep the inning going and the Tigers poured in three more runs thanks to the rally. Baltzell singled up the middle to bring in Watson, then Tagawa drove in her teammate for another score. Gonzalez finished off the scoring with her pinch-hit double to make it an even dozen for Trinity.
The Rundown, Game 2
The Tigers picked up right where they left off to open the second game, as Koelewyn got three quick outs and the offense gave her a comfortable cushion in the bottom of the first. Tagawa and Whitacre once again singled and stole bases to get things going, with a throwing error on the second steal leading to the first run of the game. Whitacre came around to score on a sac fly from Gonzalez to make it 2-0 Tigers after one inning.
Koelewyn pitched around a leadoff walk in the second, giving the eager Trinity hitters another chance to round the bases. Watson and Baltzell singled to start the inning, then Tagawa picked up an RBI with a ground ball to first. Boudreaux doubled to the gap in right-center to make it 4-0, then Lee tripled to bring in another run and the rout was on once again.
Carnegie Mellon got its first hit of the day with a bunt single with one out in the third, turning that into its first run of the game to make it 6-1. Trinity's offense responded with its biggest inning of the day, scoring five runs on six hits to make it a 10-run lead. The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs, then Boudreaux smashed a ground-rule double down the right-field line to score the first two of the inning. Lee followed with an RBI single to left field, then after a walk reloaded the bases, Gonzalez brought in another run with a single through the left side of the infield. Koelewyn bounced a run-scoring hit up the middle after that to make it 11-1 at the time.
Bishop came in and pitched around a two-out walk as catcher
Meagan Brooks (Graham, Texas / Graham) – who had just entered the game – threw out an attempted steal at second to end the inning. The bottom of the inning began with two walks for the Tigers as Baltzell and Tagawa reached base, but Carnegie Mellon got two quick outs in hopes of keeping Trinity off the board for the first time all night. Instead Lee and Gonzalez delivered clutch hits to take the lead all the way to 13-1. The Tartans put two runs on the board with a pair of hits and a walk in the top of the fifth, but Bishop settled in and got the next three batters out to finish off the sweep.
Up Next
Trinity will resume Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on the road this weekend, heading to Abilene, Texas, to face off against McMurry University (TX) for a three-game series. The teams play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 8, at 12:00 p.m., followed by the series finale on Sunday, March 9, at 12:00 p.m.
