KERRVILLE, Texas – The Trinity University softball team completed its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series on the road with a doubleheader sweep at Schreiner University (TX) on Saturday afternoon, winning 10-1 and 7-0 in today's games.
The Tigers (27-7, 20-4) have now won eight straight games against the Mountaineers (7-23, 4-15) and have won the regular season series four straight seasons – including the last two via sweeps. Trinity has won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams, dating back to the 2022 season.
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and five RBI to pace Trinity's offense today, while three other hitters also had three hits across the two games.
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) was 3-for-8 with three runs scored, while both
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) and
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) hit home runs in the second game. Garcia also had two doubles in the opening game and drove in four RBI on the day, and Boudreaux finished with three RBI and two runs scored for the doubleheader.
A trio of Tiger pitchers dominated in the circle today, allowing just one run on nine hits and striking out 18 batters over 14 innings of action.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) improved to 7-2 after taking the win in the opener, striking out seven batters in 4.0 innings.
Heather Nugent (Huntington Beach, Calif. / Marina) came on in relief with 3.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits, and recording her first save of the year. Game two belonged to
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove), who recorded her team-leading third shutout of the season, tossing a complete-game three-hitter during which she recorded eight strikeouts.
The Rundown 1.0
Del Toro got the Tigers started with an RBI double with two outs in the top of the second inning, then Garcia capped a three-hit third inning for Trinity with an RBI double of her own to put Trinity up 2-0 after three innings of play. Meanwhile, Arce was dominating the Schreiner bats over those first three innings, recording five of her seven strikeouts and allowing just two singles.
Trinity blew the game open in the fourth, taking a 7-0 lead after scoring five times in the frame. Arce and Del Toro singled to start the inning, then Baltzell drove them both in with a single to center two batters later. A costly error extended the inning and allowed Trinity to pad its lead.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) delivered a two-out single to make it 5-0, then Garcia smashed her second straight RBI double to drive in two more.
After Schreiner broke up the shutout with a pair of extra-base hits in the bottom of the third, Nugent came in and locked down the Schreiner offense. Following a scoreless fifth, Trinity was back to work in the sixth with another run.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) doubled to set up Boudreaux for an RBI single to right and the lead was up to 8-1.
Sydney Watson (San Antonio, Texas / San Antonio Christian) added two more runs to the lead with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the seventh. Nugent then pitched around a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, striking out a pair of batters to clinch the win and the series.
The Rundown 2.0
With two wins in the bag, Trinity now turned its attention towards a sweep, and Kriechbaum delivered a masterpiece of a shutout to check that box in a big way. She recorded inning-ending strikeouts four times over seven innings – including the last two batters of the game. Two of the three hits she allowed came in one inning, but she kept the home team from any thoughts of a comeback.
The offense got started early to help Kriechbaum settle in as Boudreaux sent a home run to right field just two batters into the game to make it an early 1-0 Tiger lead. Del Toro doubled in the second and Baltzell made it 2-0 with her two-out single.
A rare inning without a score came again in the third for Trinity, but the lineup made up for it with three runs in the top of the fourth to essentially put the game out of reach. Baltzell was there again with a clutch hit, sending a two-run single into center to start the scoring, but it was back-to-back walks to lead off the inning that got the wheels turning. After Schreiner got the first out of the inning, Watson singled to load the bases and set up Baltzell. Watson and Baltzell then moved around the bases on a passed ball and a wild pitch, with the latter bringing Watson in for the 5-0 lead. Boudreaux drove in a run with a sac fly in the sixth and Garcia lead off the seventh with a solo homer to finish off the scoring – and finish off the home team.
Up Next
Trinity will come home for a three-game SCAC series against Centenary College (LA) in two weeks, beginning on Friday, April 18, with an afternoon doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m. The final game of the series will be at Noon on Sunday, April 19.
