SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University softball team split a Southern Athletic Association doubleheader with Rhodes College (TN) on Saturday afternoon, winning 12-0 in five innings after getting edged 10-9 in the opening game.
The Tigers (15-6-1, 1-1 SAA) and the Lynx (12-10, 3-2 SAA) scored 12 combined runs in the first inning of the opening game and finished with 19 total hits between the two teams. Rhodes was limited to just two hits in the second game, while a nine-run fourth inning vaulted Trinity to the run-rule victory.
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) threw a two-hit shutout to secure the game two win for the Tigers, striking out six batters without issuing a walk to improve to 4-3 this season.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) took the loss in game one after allowing seven runs on nine hits over 3.0 total innings, falling to 10-3 this season.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) and
Cameron Bishop (Austin, Texas / Austin) allowed just one earned run on three hits over the 4.0 innings of work in the middle of the game.
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) led the offense with two doubles among her four hits on the day, going 4-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBI.
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) finished with three runs and four RBI over the two games, while
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) scored three runs, collected three RBI, and drew three walks in the DH.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) scored four runs and stole two bases in the two games, and
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) went 2-for-4 with two runs, two walks, and three steals on the day. Koelewyn had a big day at the plate in the second game, going 2-for-4 with four RBI.
The Rundown
Rhodes shocked the Tigers early with five runs on six hits in the top of the first, taking a commanding 5-0 lead. Trinity got those runs back and more in the home half of the inning, albeit in a much different way. The Tigers scored seven runs on just one hit to take a 7-5 lead, taking advantage of five walks and three hit batters. Trinity loaded the bases on just 13 pitches, then
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) and
Hannah Flores (San Antonio, Texas / Taft) both drove in runs with walks to cut the lead to 5-2 at the time. After a pitching change, Del Toro drove in another Tiger run after getting hit by a pitch.
Kristy Mendoza (Phoenix, Ariz. / Desert Vista) then lifted a sac fly into center field for the first out of the inning, though the lead was now just one at 5-4. After Arce was also hit by a pitch and Whitacre reached on a fielder's choice, Boudreaux was hit by a pitch to reach base for the second time in the inning and tied the game 5-5. Baltzell followed with the team's only hit of the inning – a two-run single to shallow left field that gave the Tigers a surprising 7-5 lead.
In the third, Whitacre picked up an infield single with one out in the third, then stole second to get into scoring position. Boudreaux doubled in another run and Trinity led 8-5 after three innings. Rhodes got its bats going again in the fifth, taking advantage of a Trinity error and a pair of hits to tie the game 8-8 heading into the bottom of the inning. Whitacre again set up the Tiger offense with a leadoff single and another stolen base, with Baltzell delivering a go-ahead single to make it a 9-8 lead. Rhodes tied the game in the sixth after a leadoff single and a steal of its own. Del Toro led off the bottom of the inning with a single and then reached third on a steal and an error, but the Lynx escaped with the game tied after retiring the next three hitters. Rhodes then took the lead by combining two walks with two hits to pull in front 10-9 in the seventh, and the Tigers were retired in order to end the game.
Game two was a much different story, beginning with a slow start offensively for both teams. The Tigers finally broke through in the third, thanks to a leadoff ground-rule double by Boudreaux. Walks once again plagued Rhodes, issuing three straight after the double – the third resulting in another bases-loaded walk for an RBI from Tagawa. Koelewyn then drove in two more with a single down the left field line and Trinity led 3-0. That was more than enough for Kriechbaum, who allowed just one hit over the first three innings.
Trinity exploded for nine more runs in the fourth inning, thanks to six hits and more free bases from the Lynx. Even more impressive was the fact that the Tigers did all of the damage after Rhodes retired the first two batters of the inning. Lee and Tagawa started the rally with back-to-back singles, then Koelewyn drove them both in with a double to left-center for a 5-0 lead. Three straight walks led to another run with
Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) picking up the RBI this time.
Sydney Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) delivered a two-run pinch-hit single after that, making it an 8-0 lead. After sister Hannah drew a walk to load the bases again, Baltzell was hit by a pitch to drive home another run. Lee finished off the scoring with a bases-clearing double to put the Tigers in front 12-0 heading into the fifth. Rhodes got its second hit of the day to start the inning, but Kriechbaum induced a double play to erase the runner and finish off the win.
Up Next
Trinity and Rhodes will finish off the weekend series with a single game tomorrow, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
