Softball Sweeps Colby to Continue Successful Season

ALEX DAHLEM ’20
SPORTS EDITOR

The Trinity College softball team swept the Colby College Mules this past weekend in their final home series of the season. The Bantams trounced the Mules on Friday the 20 by a score of 15-4 before holding on for a 4-3 win and a 12-5 win to sweep Saturday’s double-header. Saturday’s wins were extra sweet for the Bantams as they honored their seniors before the games. Trinity’s graduating seniors include Cassia Armstrong, Erica Merullo, Katie Haghdan, Michelle Treglia, Meaghan Race, and Captain Rachael Smith.

After an early burst of hits and runs from the Mules on Friday, Trinity countered with several runs of their own, ultimately scoring 15 runs off of 13 hits to demolish their struggling NESCAC opponent. Motivated by their final home stand in a Bantam uniform, Trinity’s veterans Katie Haghdan ’18, Michelle Treglia ’18, and Erica Merulllo ’18 led the offense for the Bantams. Haghdan had a perfect day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with 3 RBI’s while Treglia was 2-3 with 2 RBI’s. Merullo scored several times on the day.

The young guns also contributed to the scoring fest for the Bantams as Samantha Witmer ’21 added a 2-3 performance with 3 RBI’s while Cassidy Schiff ’21 and Kaitlyn DeCapua ’21 scored multiple times on the day.

The Bantams also put on a stellar pitching performance led by captain Rachael Smith ’18. Smith allowed just four hits (most of which came early on) while also racking up four strikeouts. By the end of the game Smith had found her groove, retiring the last six batters in dominant fashion.

The second installment of the series was much more contested, as the Bantams barely edged the Mules for a 4-3 victory. A fruitless first and second innings for the Bantams gave way to runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Friday’s pitcher Rachael Smith took the mound for the second day in a row. Showing no fatigue, Smith pitched her second complete game in as many days, striking out four batters while giving up just six hits over seven innings. Merullo went on yet another tear, going 3 for 4 with a triple and a pair of RBI’s. Race and Cassia Armstrong ’18 each had multiple hits with Race adding a double.

The fourth and final run for the Bantams came when shortstop Courtney Erickson ’19 scored on a double steal in the fifth inning. The Mules would battle back, but it wasn’t enough as the Bantams secured the hard-fought win.

The final game of the series saw the Bantams get out to another hot start offensively. Haghdan, in her final home game as a Bantam, along with DeCapua hit back-to-back doubles to give the Bantams a 2-0 lead after the second inning.

Despite the early lead, the Bantams would let up three runs in the following half inning, however the deficit would not last for long. Both teams would trade runs for the next few innings, but the Bantams never gave up the lead. The game then opened up in the sixth inning with the Bantams scoring five runs. The final score would end up being 12-5, a great way to close out an exciting Senior Day.

The Bantams are now 17-11 overall and 6-3 against NESCAC opponents. Up next for Trinity is this weekend’s series at the Tufts Jumbos, the final three games of the regular season. Tufts is one of the top teams in the NESCAC with an overall record of 22-6 and a conference record of 7-2, sitting just beyond Amherst.