Clermont, Fla. –  The Trinity College Bantam softball team ended its spring trip to Florida with a 7-3 win over Benedictine University, bouncing back from an 8-0 loss to SUNY-New Paltz earlier in the day at Hancock Park.  Trinity heads back North with a 6-4 record. 

In the win, the Bantams put together a strong second inning, getting four hits, two walks and taking advantage of defensive miscues to jump on top 6-0, highlighted by a two-run double by sophomore Abby Ostrom (Carlisle, Mass.).  Trinity maintained a 7-0 lead with some defensive help, including a clutch play by senior co-captain Kristina Yu (Andover, Mass.) at third base.   But things were not over yet.

On the verge of a shortened game with an 8-run lead mercy rule looming, Benedictine made a push in the fourth inning, posting three runs on four hits, including an RBI double by first-year Chelsea White (Crete, Ill.), to cut Trinity's lead to 7-3.  Senior Lindsay Gibbons (Basking Ridge, N.J.), who entered the game in relief in the fifth inning found herself in a bases loaded jam with no outs, but the Trinity defense came up big again, getting more defensive help at third base.  This time it was Ostrom to flash some leather, coming up with a self-assisted double play after snaring a liner off the bat of sophomore Nikki Powers (Glendale, Ari.), and catching the base runner at third, who could not make it back to base safely.  Gibbons cruised through the final two innings, finishing with three-innings of one-hit shutout softball. 

In the early game, junior Amber Corozza (Milton, N.Y.) struck out five in a five-inning two-hit shutout for New Paltz, allowing singles to junior Kerry McCarthy (Andover, Mass.) and junior Caroline Blanchard (Norwich, Conn.), who was forced to leave the game in the second inning due to injury.  She returned for the end of Game 2.  Junior Melissa Liotta (Brentwood, N.Y.) led the New Paltz offense with two hits, two RBI, and a run in Game 1.  In Game 2, Powers collected two hits to lead Benedictine, while senior co-captain Katherine Poulos (Wilton, Conn.) had two hits and two runs, and sophomore Christina Galese (Fairfield, N.J.) had two hits, two RBI and a run in the game to highlight Trinity's offense.