ROSEMONT, Ill. — It was the opening weekend for TIU softball as they made the short trip to Rosemont to compete in the NAIA Leadoff Tournament, hosted by Roosevelt University. With a pair of match-ups on Friday afternoon, newly minted head coach
Jeff Hankins and his squad of majority newcomers met the Knights of Kentucky Christian and the Cougars of Cleary University.
Game One: TIU 0, Kentucky Christian 7
A tough start on offense, the Trojans were held to three at the plate while the Knights grabbed one during their first at bat. The next two innings went scoreless for both teams, with freshman Izabella Hernandez shining bright for the Trojans on defense as she caught two pop flies then made the play at first to pull Trinity through the second inning.
With the Trojans trailing by one, they stood firm on defense as freshman pitcher Casey Cousino earned her first collegiate start and double play as she caught the hit then made the play at first early in the third inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Knights tallied another run to increase their lead to 0-2.
TIU continued to struggle on offense as the Knights sophomore slinger threw a complete game from the circle and allowed just two hits.
In the fifth and sixth innings, Kentucky Christian would extend their lead to 0-7 without an answer from the Trojans.
Game Two: TIU 0, Cleary 5
Cleary opened up scoring in the bottom of the first inning, adding four runs to the scoreboard.
A scoreless second inning brought the Trojans back to the plate where sophomore Waverly Swanstrom singled to get on base before freshman Ashley Griffith nailed a well-placed sac bunt to advance Swanstrom. Unfortunately, TIU was unable to advance her any farther as a pop fly sent them back to the bench. The Cougars grabbed one hit in the third from freshman Jenna McIntyre in her first collegiate start.
The fourth and fifth innings were three up and three down for both teams as both sides tightened their defensive efforts with Cleary still ahead 0-4.
The Cougars scored again in the bottom of the sixth after a fielding error allowed the runner to advance and the challengers hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Gigi Redman.
Trinity had a final chance to bat in the seventh and looked to generate momentum after back to back singles from freshmen Alisyn Fullingim and Alayla Thornton but the Cougar defense locked it up with a double play to secure the Trojan's defeat.
Next:
Head coach Jeff Hankins starts off his inaugural season with the Trojans leading a crew of 14 players composed of six veterans and eight newcomers from Washington, to Florida, to Wisconsin and in between. While their first outing wasn't what the Trojans hoped for on the scoreboard, Hankins was pleased with the many team wins they accomplished as they saw marked improvements over the course of the day.
The Trojans(0-2) take a couple weeks to regroup before hitting the road again, this time out of state to Kentucky, for a pair of doubleheaders against Thomas More and Pikeville on February 18th and 19th.
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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness, and lifelong learning.
