ANGOLA, Ind. — The Adrian College softball team opened the 2023 MIAA Tournament with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Trine in game one. In game two, the Bulldogs bounced back and defeated Alma 5-0 Thursday afternoon to keep their MIAA championship aspirations alive.
GAME ONE
The Bulldogs found themselves in yet another tightly contested battle with Trine University on Thursday afternoon. During the first two innings of game one, both teams found themselves in a 0-0 stalemate after Adrian and Trine combined for three hits and four runners left on base.
Eventually, in the top of the third inning, the Bulldogs would break the 0-0 tie to take a crucial 1-0 lead against Trine. To open the inning, junior Karson Bagelmann would record a leadoff single to start the offense for Adrian. Brynn McKay would follow Bagelmann's single with a sacrifice bunt to advance her teammate to second base with two outs remaining in the inning. Bagelmann would advance again after a foul out by Hailey DeChalk, which brought Peyton Russell to the plate. Russell, like many times during the regular season proved to be clutch in yet another critical point of the game. The freshman would single down the right field line to drive in Bagelmann, giving Adrian a 1-0 advantage.
Both teams were held scoreless until Trine scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning after knocking a home run out of the park to give the Thunder the eventual 2-1 win Thursday. Bagelmann and Meghan Lupu would lead Adrian College with two hits each, while Russell would have the Bulldog's lone RBI in Adrian's defeat to Trine.
GAME TWO
The Bulldogs found themselves in a win-or-go-home position in game two and failing to advance in the tournament would not be an option for Adrian College Thursday afternoon.
After the Bulldogs totaled one hit in the first two innings, Adrian College caught fire during the bottom of the third inning, scoring four runs off of five hits in the process. Flesia Borck would start up the offense in the third with a leadoff double to left field. Borck's teammate Bagelmann would advance her to third base after recording a single of her own with nobody out. Later, DeChalk would be hit by a pitch to load the bases for Russell, who in turn singled. Eventually, the Bulldogs tacked on two more runs: First, Stein flew out and advaned Russell to second and DeChalk to third, while scoring McKay on the play. After taking the 3-0 lead, Adrian would continue to pile on insurance. Next, Lupu singled and scored DeChalk to increase the lead to four in the bottom of the third inning.
Later in the bottom of the fifth with one out, Russell would put an exclamation on the Bulldog's victory Thursday, by hitting a homerun shot to left field, improving the lead to 5-0. Neither team would score for the remainder of the contest and the Bulldogs advanced to the next round of the MIAA Tournament Thursday. With the 5-0 win, Schang would pick up her 16th victory on the year after allowing only two hits in in Thursday's second game. Over her last nine games, Schang has been dominant: She has posted a record of 7-2 and has allowed five hits or less in over half of her contests pitched. In the hitting department, McKay, Russell, and Borck, would tie a game high of two hits in the second game of Thursday's action.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will continue through the MIAA gauntlet and will play Calvin at noon on Friday. Live Stats and live stream information is available under the Adrian College Softball schedule.
