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Box Score 3 FINDLAY, Ohio – On Friday, the Trevecca Nazarene University (26-11) softball team made it a tripleheader day at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championships. The three wins propel the top-seed to the tournament finals on Saturday.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference is hosting its 2021 softball championships at the Marathon Diamonds in Findlay, Ohio where the Trojans face sixth-seeded Ohio Dominican University (27-16) at 9 AM on Saturday.
The Panthers are undefeated in the championships, so the Trojans need two wins over ODU to secure the AQ (Automatic Qualifier) to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional.
Trevecca opened the tripleheader day with a brunch date alongside Ursuline College (11-24). TNU defeated the seventh-seeded Arrows 8-2.
The Trojans turned their attention to second-seeded Hillsdale College (31-17) and rallied to beat the Chargers 5-3.
The win gave the Trojans another chance to advance to the tournament finals, this time in the loser's bracket final against fourth-seeded Tiffin University (23-17). Trevecca knocked off the Dragons 10-6.
Raygn Hall is 2-1 in the championship with a save. The senior hurled 14.2 innings over the first two days.
MaKray Odom is hitting .438 over the five games with five runs scored, six RBI, two doubles, and a stolen base. Megan Groves is hitting .429 with four runs, three doubles, a home run, five RBI, and three walks.
WHAT'S NEXT
As noted, the Trojans face ODU at 9 AM with the championship on the line. The Trojans are looking for their first trip to the regionals since 2016. The Trojans and Panthers meet for the 14th time and the Trojans leading 10-3 all-time. Trevecca won both games this season and have claimed the "W" in the last four meetings. Trevecca won 6-2 and 3-2 on April 26 in Nashville.
HOW IT HAPPENED
GM 1 vs #7 Ursuline
Trevecca scored two in the bottom of the third and added five in the fifth for a 5-0 advantage. Megan Groves drove in the two runs in the third with a double. In the fifth, a bunt single by Megan Groves scored a run and an error on the play scored another run and moved Groves to third. Carly Sperlich and Brooke Eakes followed with singles to driving in two more runs. The Arrows scored their two runs in the top of the sixth to extend the game. The Trojans added one in the bottom of the sixth.
GM 2 vs #2 Hillsdale
Hillsdale jumped ahead 3-0 with single runs in the second, third, and fifth innings. With time running out in the elimination game, Trevecca roared back with a five-run fifth and a 5-3 lead. MaKray Odom double to drive in two runs. Lenna Robinson singled to tie the game 3-3. Carly Sperlich pushed the Trojans into the lead with a two-run double.
GM 3 vs #4 Tiffin
Tiffin started fast with a three-run first, but the Trojans responded with a four-run first. Alyssa Trinder doubled in the bottom of the first to drive in two. Anna Bennett drove in a run with a SAC fly and Triner scored on a wild pitch to round out the scoring. Tiffin regained the lead with a two-run home run in the top of the second. The game pushed along quickly with zeros for both teams until Tiffin extended their lead with a run in the sixth. Again, with time and the season quickly evaporating, the Trojans scored six runs in the sixth to put themselves in a position to advance. Anna Bennett led off the scoring with a two-run bomb, tying the game at 6-6. Malone Thrift put the Trojans 7-6 with an RBI-single. Lenna Robinson followed with a RBI-single before MaKray Odom scored on a wild pitch. Carly Sperlich singled in the final run.
CIRCLE AND BOX NOTES
GM 1 vs #7 Ursuline
MaKray Odom, Lenna Robinson, and Megan Groves each contributed two hits. Odom scored twice and stole a base while Groves drove in three runs and scored one.
As a team, Trevecca pounded out 12 hits and Megan Groves hit the only extra-base hit, a double.
Raygn Hall (12-8) picked up the win with five shutout innings of one-hit ball with no walks and four strikeouts. Hannah Caffey closed out the game with two innings of work.
GM 2 vs #2 Hillsdale
MaKray Odom is the only Trojan with more than one hit. Odom Sperlich, Lenna Robinson, and Megan Groves all hit a double.
Alex Behnke (11-2) started and picked up the win with five innings of work. Raygn Hall (1) picked up her first save of the year, pitching the final two shutout innings. Hall allowed two hits but no walks.
Both teams produced eight hits and no errors.
GM 3 vs #4 Tiffin
MaKray Odom manufactured two hits, scored a run, drove in a run, and walked. Megan Groves hit another double as did Alyssa Triner.
Tiffin outhit the Trojans 10-8.
Hannah Caffey pitched 5.1 innings of solid relief, allowing three runs and keeping Tiffin at bay for the Trojan bats to heat up. Raygn Hall (13-8) got the win with two-thirds of an inning of one-hit work in the circle.
SEASON ESSENTIALS
G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats | G-MAC Scores | 2021 G-MAC Championships
SERIES HISTORY
GM 1 vs #7 Ursuline
Trevecca is 20-2 all-time versus the Arrows. The Trojans have taken with a win in the last four meetings.
GM 2 vs #2 Hillsdale
Trevecca broke a five-game win streak in the series by the Chargers. Trevecca won for just the second time in the series that reached 10 games with today's meeting. HC is the only Great Midwest team with a winning record against the Trojans. Findlay is the closest with a 3-3 mark all-time.
GM 3 vs #4 Tiffin
Trevecca won for the third time in four all-time meetings.
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