SEGUIN, Texas – The Trinity University softball team scored a 2-1 win over 13th-ranked Huntingdon College (AL) in its opening game at the NCAA Regional Tournament, hosted by Texas Lutheran University.
The Tigers (31-11-1) scored in each of the first two innings and never gave up the lead against the Hawks (31-11), picking up a win in Trinity's first NCAA Playoff appearance since 2007. This is just the seventh appearance in the postseason tournament for Trinity and today marks the fourth win in 16 games played.
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) started in the circle for the Tigers, striking out three batters and allowing a run on three hits over the first two-plus innings.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) came on in relief in the third, pitching 5.0 innings to earn the win and improve to 17-6 this season. Koelewyn allowed no runs on just one hit while recording a pair of strikeouts to earn the win.
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) went 3-for-4 with one RBI to lead Trinity's offense, accounting for half of the team's hits in the game.
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) had a double and drove in a run, while
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) and
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) both singled and scored.
The Tigers got going early in the game as Baltzell had a one-hit single in the first, then
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Tagawa singled to drive in the first run of the game and then Koelewyn was also hit by a pitch to load the bases. Huntingdon was able to get the next two outs, though, and limit the damage to just one run.
Whitacre singled and stole second in the second inning, then scored on Boudreaux's double to right-center that gave Trinity a 2-0 cushion.
Kriechbaum struck out two in the first before pitching around an error and a walk in the second to keep the Hawks off the board. She gave up a leadoff walk in the third and Huntingdon backed that up with back-to-back hits to cut the lead in half. Koelewyn came in and got three ground ball outs with two runners in scoring position, keeping the Tigers in the lead at 2-1. After retiring the first six batters she faced, Koelewyn issued a pair of walks in the fifth inning, but Boudreaux threw out the first runner trying to steal second, and Koelewyn snagged a line drive for a double play to erase the second. Her only hit allowed came with two outs in the seventh to put the tying run on base, but she got a ground ball out to close out the win and stop any rally before it started.
Up Next
Trinity will face #3 Texas Lutheran tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. with the winner moving on to Saturday's Regional Championship. The losing team will face either Penn State University-Behrend or Huntingdon tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.
