GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Trinity University softball team was unable to hold on to its lead in the final inning of Saturday's Southern Athletic Association game, as Southwestern University (TX) rallied for a 5-4 win over the Tigers.

Trinity (20-8-1, 6-3 SAA) did win the series over the Pirates (18-16, 6-6 SAA) though, sweeping Friday's doubleheader 8-3 and 9-4. Despite today's setback, the Tigers are still tied atop the SAA standings. Trinity was down 2-1 heading into the seventh inning but scored three times to take a 4-2 lead. Southwestern then scored three runs of its own to take the win, taking advantage of a pair of Tiger errors in the inning.

Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) was 2-for-4 and scored a run offensively, as well as coming in as a reliever to finish off the game. She allowed three runs – only one earned – on three hits over 2.0 innings but took the loss and fell to 13-4 this season. Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) started the game, striking out three batters in 4.0 innings, and allowing two runs on four hits. Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) also had two hits and collected two RBI, while Mariana Garcia (Goodyear, Ariz. / Canyon View) went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Southwestern got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, opening the game with a leadoff double and then scoring on an infield single later in the inning to lead 1-0. The Tigers answered immediately in the top of the second to tie the game at 1-1. Koelewyn led things off with a single, followed by a Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) single to put two on with no outs. After a groundout moved both runners into scoring position, Garcia tied the game with Trinity's third hit of the inning. The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs after Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) was walked for the second time in the game, but the Pirates escaped the jam.

Kriechbaum hit a batter to open the bottom of the fifth inning, which brought Koelewyn into the game. The Pirates were able to squeeze a run across and take the 2-1 lead. The Tiger rally in the seventh started with a leadoff single from Garcia. After two groundouts and an error nearly finished the game, Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) tied things up with a two-out single. Tagawa then put Trinity in front with a two-run single to center. The Southwestern rally in the bottom half began with a leadoff single, followed by two errors to make it 4-3, and then a stolen base and the game-winning hit.

Up Next
Trinity will continue SAA play next weekend, returning home to face Sewanee (TN) for a three-game series that begins with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.