As nine-time All-Star MLB player Albert Pujols said, “It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish.”

For Trinity Softball, Pujol’s words certainly ring true. In their 2022 season, Trinity Softball made one of the biggest turnarounds their program has ever seen. After losing their first 12 games, the Tigers went on to win 18 of their next 22. Sometimes all it takes is one good game to turn a season around, and this game was a road win for the Tigers against Centenary College.

In this crucial win, first-year Alexa Saucedo had a big day at the plate going 2-4 with two RBIs. Sophomore Jordyn Williams went 2-4 with two doubles and two RBIs on the night as well. After the game, Head Coach Abby Martin had encouraging words to say.

“It was great to break through and start off strong in conference play. We have more and more girls stepping up every day and it’s exciting to see. The sky is the limit for this team when they play hard and play together,” Martin said in a statement for the athletic department.

While Coach Martin did not know it yet, her words after their first win would become increasingly clear as the Tigers went on to win their next seven games. The sky was, in fact, the limit for her Tigers. With Coach Martin remaining positive, Trinity Softball dug deep and started to win games.

A huge contributor to Trinity Softball’s success has been senior pitcher Cat Patterson. Over the course of the season, Patterson has been known for pitching well at crucial moments. Keeping their winning streak alive against Howard Payne earlier this season, the Tigers’ midweek pair of wins both went to the credit of Patterson, who posted her first complete-game shutout of 2022, followed by a victorious relief appearance to end the day.

Another impressive performance from Patterson came in their split against St. Thomas on April 15th. In game one, she pitched a complete game shutout, only allowing five hits and recorded one strikeout.

“That first game in our series against St. Thomas was what I consider the most successful game I’ve thrown in my college career. Throwing against a great hitting team like St. Thomas requires strategic pitch sequences, sharp locations, and a strong mentality. All three were present that game which is why I produced the results I wanted,” Patterson said.
When looking back at their schedule, one of Trinity Softball’s most dominant pairs of wins were home games against Austin College. The Tigers finished the pair with impressive scores of 12-1 (across five innings) and 5-1. In their first win, sophomore Marina Delaluna had a huge day at the plate; the third baseman went 4-for-6 on the day with two home runs and seven runs batted in. Jessica Lloyd and Lanie Smith collected two hits in game two, and junior pitcher Emery Boettcher picked up her fourth win of the season, only surrendering one run on three hits in game two.

Currently, Trinity Softball stands at a record of 18-22. This has been the Tigers’ best season in SCAC play since 2016. Given how the season started, the overall fight from this team to bring themselves to a ranking of third in the SCAC is a true success story, and their most recent game against TLU was a testament to their hard work.

“It is safe to say that our second game against TLU (a 1-0 loss) was the most exciting game I have ever played. TLU is a nationally-ranked powerhouse team and we were able to keep them in a 0-0 ball game until the bottom of the 7th. That was a huge morale booster as we head into the SCAC tournament this weekend,” Patterson said.

As Patterson mentioned, with their regular season coming to a close, Trinity Softball is now preparing for the first round of the SCAC Conference Tournament. The Tigers play Centenary College at 1:30 p.m. today (April 29) in Irving, Texas. The last time these two teams met, our Tigers won their first game of the season. While Centenary will look to make up for their last performance, the Tigers have proven their mental toughness throughout the course of this season. As they head into SCAC Conference play, the sky continues to be the limit for Trinity Softball.