SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University softball team split a non-conference doubleheader against Willamette University (OR) to close out the weekend on Sunday afternoon, winning 5-3 before falling 3-2 in the finale.
The Tigers (8-2) had the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh of game two, but the Bearcats (3-7) made a diving catch on a line drive to short to escape with the win. Both teams finished with 13 hits across the two games and Willamette was able to overcome a total of four errors.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) went the distance in the opener, improving to 6-0 this season after giving up just three runs on six hits over the full 7.0 innings, and striking out three batters.
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) was charged with the game two loss after allowing three runs on five hits and recording six strikeouts.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) and
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) had two hits each in the first game and Whitacre also scored two runs and drove in another.
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) went 2-for-2 and scored a run in game two, but the Tigers were held to just five total hits in the game.
The Rundown, Game 1
The Bearcats drew a leadoff walk to start the game and then came around to score on a two-out single to take an early 1-0 lead. Whitacre laid down a bunt single and stole second to start Trinity's offensive half, moving to third on a sac bunt from Tagawa, and then scoring on a ground out by
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) to tie the game 1-1. Koelewyn was hit by the first pitch of the second inning and
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position.
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) broke the tie with her RBI single and then stole second to put runners at second and third again.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) made it 3-1 with a ground ball to short, but the Tigers ultimately left the bases loaded and kept the game close.
Neither team scored again until the fourth when Arce singled and stole second to get the Tigers going. Whitacre dropped a single into left field to bring Arce home and then moved to second on the throw. An error by Willamette brought in another run, putting Trinity ahead 5-1 at the time. The Bearcats scratched across a run in the fifth, then managed a two-out double to bring in another in the seventh, but Koelewyn induced a game-ending ground ball to clinch the win.
The Rundown, Game 2
The second game started with Willamette putting the first two runners on but a line drive double play and a baserunning error ultimately derailed the inning. The Tigers only had one runner in the first eight batters and she was erased on a double play. Baltzell's single in her first at-bat was the only hit in the first four innings for Trinity. In the fifth inning, Willamette took advantage of a one-out walk and a single to break up the shutout and take a 1-0 lead. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but a good defensive play for the Bearcats kept the home team scoreless despite a pair of hits.
Willamette carried that momentum into the sixth, pairing a walk with two hits to push two more runs across and take a 3-0 lead.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) drove in a run in the Tiger half of the sixth after Boudreaux reached on a one-out single, cutting the lead to 3-1. Trinity got the bases loaded with two outs but was not able to get any more runs. In the seventh, Baltzell led off the inning with a walk, but the next two batters got out. Boudreaux reached on an error that brought in Baltzell for the second run, but a line drive to short ended the rally and Willamette picked up the split.
Up Next
The Tigers will remain home next weekend, hosting Howard Payne University (TX) in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader that begins at 12:00 p.m.
