ABILENE, Texas – The Trinity University softball team finished off a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend sweep by defeating McMurry University (TX) 7-3 and 7-2 in a Sunday afternoon doubleheader.
The Tigers (15-4, 9-2 SCAC) extended their winning streak to 10 games with today's doubleheader sweep, which followed Saturday's series-opening win by a final of 12-8. Trinity never trailed in either game today, opening up a 7-0 lead at one point in game two, then scoring five runs in the second inning to get the second game off to a good start. Trinity had 12 hits in each game and allowed just 12 total hits as a pitching staff.
Speaking of pitching,
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) improved to 4-1 after getting all but one out in game one. She finished with 6.2 total shutout innings, allowing two hits and one walk, and striking out nine batters. She also struck out five more batters over two shutout innings to finish off the second game of the DH.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) got the win in that second game, allowing two runs on six hits over 5.0 innings of work, improving to 6-2 on the season.
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) finished her day with four hits, three runs scored, and three RBI to pace the Trinity offensive attack.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) had a pair of hits on the day, scoring four total runs, and recording three stolen bases – all of which came in game one.
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) tallied three hits and drove in three total runs on the day.
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) and
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) both had three total hits in the two games and Garcia drove in two runs in the opener.
The Rundown, Game 1
Trinity got off to a quick start, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning with a pair of two-out hits.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) got things going with an RBI double to score Whitacre for the first run, then Garcia brought Lee in with a hit of her own to make it 2-0. Kriechbaum struck out the first two batters she faced, then fielded a comebacker to close the first inning with the Tigers in control.
Three more runs in the second inning put Trinity comfortably in front at 5-0. Baltzell and Tagawa hit back-to-back singles with one out in the inning, then Whitacre drove in Baltzell to put runners on the corners. Whitacre stole second and Tagawa stole home for the second run of the inning, then Boudreaux finished the scoring with a single of her own to give her team a five-run lead.
After Trinity got two more runs on a pair of hits, a walk, and a sac fly by Garcia, the lead swelled to 7-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Kriechbaum retired the first 11 batters she faced before McMurry got its first runner of the game with a two-out double in the bottom of the fourth. The War Hawks did all their damage in the first game after Kriechbaum came out in the bottom of the sixth. After McMurry scored three runs on three hits and had just one out, Kriechbaum re-entered the game and promptly got the next two hitters out to slam the door on the comeback bid. After giving up a leadoff walk in the seventh, Kriechbaum finished off the game with a pair of strikeouts on her way to retiring the final three batters she faced.
The Rundown, Game 2
After a quiet first inning, Trinity's offense hammered out five hits in the second for what turned into the highest-scoring inning of the day. Garcia started things off with a single, but McMurry got the next two Tiger batters out. Del Toro then brought in Garcia for the first run of the game with a hit, then Baltzell and Tagawa knocked back-to-back doubles to make it a 3-0 game. After an error extended the inning, Boudreaux then drove in the final two with Trinity's third double of the inning. McMurry got on the board with two hits to start the bottom of the second but stranded two runners in scoring position and the game remained 5-1 after two.
The War Hawks picked up another run on three hits in the third to make it 5-2, but once again stranded two runners in scoring position to miss a chance at a big inning. After going down in order in the third and fourth, Trinity's offense came back to life with a four-hit fifth inning. Unfortunately, the hits didn't translate into runs and the score remained 5-2.
Koelewyn kept the lead safe by retiring McMurry in order in the fourth and fifth innings, then Tagawa and Whitacre both knocked in runs in the top of the sixth to pad Trinity's lead to 7-2. Kriechbaum came out of the bullpen and promptly struck out the side in the sixth, then struck out two more batters in the seventh to finish the game with authority.
Up Next
Trinity returns home for a busy week that begins with a non-conference doubleheader against Rochester University (NY) on Wednesday, March 12. The Tigers then play host to the University of the Ozarks (AR) for a three-game SCAC series that begins with a doubleheader on Friday, March 14, at 12:00 p.m.
