DANVILLE, Ky. – The Trinity University softball team closed out the regular season with a Southern Athletic Association weekend series-clinching 10-0 shutout win over Centre College (KY) on Sunday.
The Tigers (28-9-1, 14-4 SAA) also clinched a share of the SAA Regular Season Championship with the win over the Colonels (16-20, 6-12 SAA) today. Trinity will be the top seed at next weekend's SAA Tournament, due to a 2-1 record over co-champion Rhodes College (TN) during the regular season. Trinity powered its way to today's win, launching three home runs and allowing just two hits to the Centre batters.
Megan Kriechbaum (Cedar Hills, Utah / Pleasant Grove) struck out four batters in 4.0 innings of work to earn the win and improve to 11-4 this season.
Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) finished off the final two innings of the game, picking up a pair of strikeouts without allowing a hit.
Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) and
Josephine Koelewyn (Reno, Nev. / Academy of Arts Careers and Technology) drove in seven of Trinity's 10 runs and both Tigers hit home runs.
Hannah Boudreaux (Pearland, Texas / Shadow Creek) also went deep, starting off the game with a solo homer in the top of the first. Lee went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, while Koelewyn had two hits and four RBI.
Hayden Del Toro (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) also collected a pair of hits and Boudreaux wound up scoring two runs in the game. Del Toro and
Ella Whitacre (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) had two steals each as well.
The Rundown
The leadoff homer by Boudreaux set the tone for the inning – and the game – as the Tigers jumped in front early and never looked back. Two batters after the home run, Lee doubled and
Samantha Tagawa (Agoura Hills, Calif. / Agoura) walked to clutter the bases. Koelewyn then made it 4-0 with a three-run blast to right-center. She drove in Lee again with a third-inning double to extend the lead to 5-0. Centre got both of its hits in the first three innings but Trinity's defense also had two double plays in that time to keep the Colonels from breaking through against Kriechbaum.
Del Toro got the Tiger offense started in the sixth with a leadoff single and a stolen base. Arce bunted Del Toro to third and
Lexi Walper (Parksville, Canada / Seton Catholic Prep) laced an RBI single down the right field line to get the scoring started in the inning. Boudreaux followed with a walk and then
Angela Baltzell (Antioch, Calif. / Freedom) drove in another run with her first hit of the day. Lee then crushed a three-run shot over the fence in center to make it a 10-0 Trinity lead. Centre drew a pair of walks in the bottom of the sixth but could not extend the game as Arce got a strikeout and groundout to close out the Tiger victory.
Up Next
Trinity will be the top seed at next weekend's SAA Tournament, which will begin on Thursday, May 7, in Columbus, Ga. Full schedules and matchups will be announced by the SAA this week.
