LEWISTON, ME. – The Bantams dropped a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon in Lewiston, Maine, falling to host Bates College to wrap up the regular season.
Trinity Softball now owns a 20–14 record (9–9 NESCAC), while the Bobcats improve to 17–18 overall and 7–11 in conference play.
Game 1: Trinity 3, Bates 4
A walk and a fielding error put Abby Alper and Emily Goddard on first and second to open the game. Trinity first-year Katie Ruffer worked a full 3–2 count before delivering a single up the middle to score Alper. The Bantams added another run two outs later on a groundout by Makenna True that brought home Goddard.
Bates got on the board in the bottom of the third with a run off a sacrifice bunt by Maya Lee, cutting the deficit to 2–1 entering the fourth.
A wild pitch in the fourth allowed the Bobcats to advance on the bases, leading to the tying run and putting a runner on third. A sacrifice fly in the ensuing at-bat gave Bates a 3–2 lead heading into the fifth.
Trinity responded in the fifth. After two quick outs, the Bantams strung together three singles to load the bases. A fielding error by the Bates third baseman allowed True to score the tying run, evening the game at 3–3.
A double in the bottom of the sixth proved decisive, giving the Bobcats a 4–3 lead. In the top of the seventh, Trinity put the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first with one out, but two groundouts ended the threat and the game.
Senior captain Kaysen Shikar threw a complete game, allowing five hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts.
Inside the Numbers
- Runs: Trinity 3 | Bates 4
- Hits: Trinity 9 | Bates 5
- Stolen Bases: Trinity 0 | Bates 0
- Errors: Trinity 5 | Bates 2
Pitching
Game 2: Trinity 1, Bates 2 (8 innings)
The second game was a defensive battle through five innings, with neither team able to break through offensively.
After Trinity stranded three runners in the top of the sixth, Bates broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half when Sienna Pietrasiewicz doubled to left field, scoring Maya Lee from first.
Trinity answered in the seventh, as Kellie Schroffner led off the inning with a solo home run over the left-field fence to tie the game at 1–1. The Bantams then held Bates scoreless in the bottom half, stranding the potential winning run on third to force extra innings.
In the eighth, a groundout, fielder's choice, and lineout ended Trinity's opportunity, leaving two runners on base. Bates secured the win when a fielding error in center field allowed the runner on second to score, giving the Bobcats a 2–1 walk-off victory.
Inside the Numbers
- Runs: Trinity 1 | Bates 2
- Hits: Trinity 6 | Bates 7
- Stolen Bases: Trinity 0 | Bates 0
- Errors: Trinity 2 | Bates 3
Pitching
- W – Isabella Alboro (Bates), 5–3
- L – Erin Connor (Trinity), 8–4
Up Next
The Bantams will travel to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, on Friday, May 8, for the NESCAC Softball Championship as the No. 6 seed. Opening-round games begin Friday, followed by quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday, and the championship game on Sunday.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
