Trinity Softball Clobbers Coast Guard Twice

Recap, photo courtesy of Trinity College

Hartford, Conn. - The visiting Trinity College Bantams swept the United States Coast Guard Academy Bears in a softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon, 7-5, and, 9-3.  The Bantams improved to 15-9 and Coast Guard falls to 9-27.  The Bantams used three runs in the top of the sixth inning to come from back from a three-run deficit and top the Bears 7-5.  Sophomore Michelle Treglia (Fairfield, Conn.) led Trinity, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI. Senior co-captain OF Erica Quinones (Trumbull, Conn.) was 2-for-4 with a run scored while sophomore Erica Merullo (Lynnfield, Mass.) went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI.  Freshman Hayden Short was 1-3 with a double, a RBI and a run scored while junior Cherokee Strickland was 2-4 with a run scored. Freshman Emily Hogan went 1-4 with a double and a run scored while sophomore Emma Hvozdovich was also 1-4 with a run scored.

Trinity tied the first game, 1-1, in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by sophomore OF Meaghan Race
(Grand Rapids, Mich.), but the Bears used three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 4-1 lead. Strickland singled with Hvozdovich on second base and the latter scored on an overthrow. The Bears got their final two runs of the inning on a pair of bases-loaded bases loaded walks.  Trinity tied the game in the fifth, 4-4, scoring one of two runs in the fourth frame on an RBI single by Merullo and another in the fifth when Treglia singled and scored on a two-out hit by first-year C Nicole Towner (Erie, Colo.).

Merullo singled to lead off the sixth inning, advanced on a hit by sophomore 1B Katie Haghdan (Pelham, N.H.), and scored on a bunt by sophomore Rachael Smith (Winchester, Mass.).  A Bear throwing error brought Haghdan around to score, and Treglia brought Smith home with a single up the middle.  Coast Guard attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the six when Hogan doubled to left center field and Short doubled to right-center field.
Sophomore Cassia Armstrong came in to the game in relief of Smith, pitching 4.2 innings and giving up one run on three hits and striking out four to collect the win.  Senior Sarah Sorensen pitched seven innings allowing seven runs on 13 hits, striking out two and walking three.

Coast Guard held an early 3-1 lead in the second game, but the Bantams came from behind with a five-run fifth inning and three more in the final frame.  Freshman Courtney Erickson (Everett, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored while Haghdan was also 2-for-4 with two RBI. Junior Victoria Baez (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) had an RBI and two hits including a home run while Quinones went 1-for-2 with a RBI and two runs scored.  Short was 2-3 with a double and a RBI while Strickland went 1-3 with a RBI. Simco had one hit and one RBI while Hogan went 1-2 with a run scored and two walks.

The Bears jumped on the board first as Short knocked a single and scored Hogan from third base.  Strickland then lined a sacrifice fly to center field to give Coast Guard a 2-0 lead after three.  Trinity scored once in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Race, but the Bears tacked on another run on a sacrifice fly.  Trinity's big fifth inning started with a solo bo,b by Baez and also included an RBI double by Quinones, a two-run double by Erickson, and a run-scoring single by Towner.  The Bantams tacked on three unearned runs in the seventh, including two on a two-out single by Haghdan.

Erickson started for the Bantams, going 2.2 innings and allowing three runs on three hits and walked six. Armstrong once again earned the victory in relief, pitching the final 10 outs and giving up no runs on three hits to improve to 8-3.  Freshman Mackenzie Everett took the game-two loss for the Bears.