SEGUIN, Texas – The Trinity University softball team was eliminated from the NCAA Regional Tournament after losses to #3 Texas Lutheran University and #13 Huntingdon College (AL) on Friday.
The Tigers (31-13-1) won the opening game of the tournament yesterday but lost 19-3 to the Bulldogs (40-4) to start the day and then couldn't rally quick enough in a 5-3 loss to the Hawks (33-11) later in the day. Texas Lutheran scored in every inning of the five-inning opener, with the Tigers scoring all three of their runs late in the game. Huntingdon jumped ahead 4-0 in today's finale and while Trinity scored a run in three straight innings, they still came up short.
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy for Arts Careers and Technology) suffered the loss in both games, dropping to 17-8 this season. Koelewyn and
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) appeared in both games, with four other Tigers pitching against the Bulldogs. Kriechbaum struck out a pair and allowed just one run on three hits over 1.2 innings of game two. Koelewyn had two of Trinity's five hits against Texas Lutheran – including her fifth home run of the season to break up the shutout.
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) also went 2-for-2 with one run scored.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) and
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) both drove in runs as well. Lee was the only Tiger with more than one hit in the second game, going 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Whitacre added another hit and another run to her day's total, while
Hannah Flores (San Antonio, Texas / Taft) had a pinch-hit RBI single, and
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) was 1-for-2 with one run scored.
The Tigers fell behind 17-0 against the Bulldogs before Koelewyn broke up the shutout with a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, scoring on a fielder's choice by Baltzell, and a single to center by Lee. That was all Trinity would get, though, as Texas Lutheran got the final out and ended the run-rule game.
After a scoreless first inning in game two, Huntingdon got on the board with a run in the second – thanks to a leadoff double, a groundout, and a wild pitch to lead 1-0. Three straight one-out hits in the third loaded the bases for the Hawks, then a three-run double broke the game open at the time. Lee singled and Tagawa walked to start the Tiger fourth, then Flores delivered a pinch-hit single to get Trinity on the board, trailing 4-1. After the Hawks added a run in the top of the fifth, Trinity loaded the bases again in the bottom half of the inning. That led to a line drive to center by Lee that drove in a run to make it a 5-2 game. Huntingdon got the next two outs, though, and the Tigers stranded two runners in scoring position. Arce laid down a bunt single in front of home plate in the sixth, then came all the way around to score on an error that put the score at 5-3. That was all the Tigers could get, though, and the game moved to the final inning. Lee picked up a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh, but Trinity was unable to mount a final rally.
