The Trinity women’s softball team played a total of eight games, four doubleheaders, in six days. They won five out of the eight games and their record has improved to 12-9 and 7-1 in conference games.
Trinity split a doubleheader against Pacific Lutheran University (Wash.) on Wednesday. The Tigers conceded the first game 4-2, but won the second game 4-2. Trinity trailed Pacific Lutheran by two runs but came back in the bottom of the fifth inning with two runs to tie the game. The Lutes added a run in the sixth and seventh inning to seal the game.
“Pacific Lutheran has always been a great team, so we’re proud to have gotten a win,” said senior second baseman Christina Armstrong. “Our team did well with stringing hits together when we needed to, and we took advantage of the mistakes they made on defense.”
In the second game, the Tigers secured a run in the first inning and runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The Lutes scored two runs in the sixth inning, but the Tigers added another run to close out the game. First-year second baseman Hillary Hoffman scored runs in both games, as did sophomore pitcher Kaci Welik. Welik also struck out three batters and only allowed two runs on six hits for the game.
“Yesterday we struggled to move runners and score when we had the opportunities,” said head coach Brandi Crnkovic. “Our defense is still getting adjusted after losing senior shortstop Brooke Sanchez to an injury, but the girls have done a good job stepping up.”
On Tuesday, the Tigers played a doubleheader against Linfield, losing both games. The Tigers lost the first game 4-0, holding the Wildcats until the fourth inning, where they scored two runs. Linfield added another two runs in the seventh inning to close the game. Armstrong had the only hit for the Tigers. Welik allowed seven hits, two walks and struck out eight batters in the game.
“As for the games against Linfield, it was a learning process,” said junior outfielder Lauren Mercado. “They were a good team and we did not come out to play that second game. We take it, learn from it to make us better and forget about it. We don’t need games like that to hold us back, especially this far into season, because we know we’re better.”
In the second game, the Tigers were unable to hold back the Wildcats. Linfield scored four runs in the second inning, three runs in the third inning and seven runs in the fifth inning. They had 14 runs off of 18 hits. Sophomore outfielder Emily Fleischmann and junior catcher Caitlynn Dykes had the only two hits for the Tigers in the game. Sophomore pitcher Katie Castillon pitched the first two innings of the game, but first-year pitcher Katie Glomb came on as relief in the third inning.
The Tigers had a weekend sweep against Austin College last Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Tigers won the first game 5-2 and won the second game 3-2 with a late run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Tigers were up 5-1 by the fifth inning, but the Roos were able to score one last run in the seventh inning. Welik struck out twelve batters in the game.
“We played very well against Austin College, really stepped up our offense and scored some runs,” Crnkovic said.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Tigers trailed by two at the top of the fifth inning, but scored a run in the fifth and sixth inning to tie the game. They avoided extra innings with a run batted-in by Hoffman, which allowed first-year catcher Sydney Ramirez to score.
On Saturday, the Tigers closed out their SCAC weekend against Austin College with two high-scoring shutout victories. They opened the first game with three runs in the first inning, followed by four runs in the second inning and one run in the third inning. The Tigers held the Roos to end the game 8-0 in the fifth inning. Welik pitches three innings of game, striking out two batters and only giving up two hits.
The Tigers started off game two with a run in the first inning from Fleischmann. In the second inning, the Tigers scored a whopping five runs on five hits. The Tigers scored another run in the fourth inning to end the game in the fifth. Castillon only allowed three hits in three innings and struck out three batters.
Glomb came on as relief in both games, only allowing three hits in four innings.
The Tigers will play a double header against Texas Lutheran University tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
“Texas Lutheran, who is our toughest competition in conference, will be a challenge, but we’re working hard to come out on top with a few wins,” Armstrong said. “We have to play our best by making no errors defensively and not leaving runners on base offensively in order to win.”
