Trinity Softball came out on top of their three-game series against Schreiner, taking a 2-1 game split in a weekend that saw plenty of action. On two days that saw beautiful springtime weather, supporters of both sides were out in force to support their teams.

Game one of the three-game series was on March 26 and saw a dominant performance from Trinity against their conference rivals. Senior pitcher Cat Patterson was a hit and a walk short of a perfect game, throwing for a complete-game shutout through seven innings. The pitcher recorded two strikeouts in the win, both coming in the seventh inning. Trinity was boosted to the victory by eight hits-two of which came off the bat of shortstop Marina Delaluna. Left-fielder Diamond Elizondo and right-fielder Kristina Kish were able to bring home the runs that ultimately won the game for Trinity, with Delaluna and First-Base Jordyn Williams crossing the plate for the scores.

However, the offensive bounty in game one couldn’t be repeated in game two, as Trinity fell hard in a 6-1 game that was plagued by mistakes. Trinity gave up three runs in the fifth and sixth innings and was held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, but defensive errors proved costly. The Tigers committed four errors in the matchup, contributing to the loss. Patterson lasted 4.2 innings in the loss, giving up three runs (two earned) but ringing up Trinity’s only strikeout of the game against Schreiner’s Taci Tatum. Delaluna scored Trinity’s only run of the game thanks to a hit by pinch hitter Maliena Carelli, which was one of only three times Trinity batters hit safely.

Sunday saw more great softball on a perfect spring day. The third game of the three-game series saw the most drama of all following a late-game comeback by Trinity, who took fans to the last second before rallying. Cat Patterson pitched another complete game, going all seven innings and striking out a batter despite allowing five runs (three earned). Schreiner had nine hits in the game, while Trinity finished the day with 12 as the final innings were a dominating offensive display.

Following two scoreless innings on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Trinity lit up the scoreboard in the third inning with four runs. Marina Delaluna hit a double to right field to bring in Madison Horn (pinch-hitting for third-base Jessica Lloyd), and Diamond Elizondo hit a double to left field to bring in Delaluna and infielder Dawson Dabboussi. Elizondo was able to cross the plate for another run thanks to the bat of Brianna Pena, ending an inning for Trinity that saw four runs off of five hits. Despite a four-run deficit, Schreiner didn’t let it discourage them. The Mountaineers took a walk to bring their first run across in the fourth, and a throwing error by Patterson gave Schreiner another, bringing the score to 2-4. The visiting Schreiner team scored another run in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI single by Carrie Fulton, turning what was a four-run deficit into a one-run ballgame.

The game was broken open by Schreiner’s Kennedy Moody, who hit a two-run homer to the left that was just out of reach of Elizondo’s glove. The big hit gave Schreiner their first lead of the day and put Trinity’s hopes for a victory in serious jeopardy. Trinity didn’t let the pressure get to them, however, as Lanie Smith (pinch-hitting for Jordyn Williams) hit a single up the middle-giving Delaluna enough time to bring in the tying run. Dabboussi was called out on the play after attempting to advance to third but walks for Brianna Pena and second-baseman Sammie Whitman loaded the bases for center fielder Sydney Watson. A well-placed hit to third base was too much to handle, causing the fielder (Marisa Hernandez) to bobble the catch. Jayla Arenas, who served as a pinch-runner for Lanie Smith, was able to get across the plate before the throw, giving Trinity the win on the walk-off error with a 6-5 final score.

Trinity moves their record up to 11-16 on the season, but 6-3 overall in SCAC play. Cat Patterson, who started all three of the weekend’s games, threw 75 pitches in game one, 73 pitches in game two and 123 pitches in game three. She racked up 16.2 innings in the three-game stretch, allowing just 13 hits, five runs and six walks while getting four strikeouts. Mariana Delaluna led the team for hits through the weekend with five hits (earning four runs) and got an RBI in game three.

Trinity has a well-deserved week off before their following slate of games as they travel to the University of Dallas for the first weekend of April. They will play two games on April 2 and one on April 3, with their return to Trinity the following weekend. They play a night game against Austin College on April 8 and two games on Saturday, April 9.