The Trenton Lady Bulldogs softball team couldn’t have come up with a more fitting way to start their run for a third district championship if they tried. Monday night at Griffin Field in Trenton, the Lady Bulldogs scored a 3-0 victory over Gallatin to kick off their 2011 campaign.
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Trenton got off to a slow start in the contest and had just one runner on base in the first two innings. Gallatin, meanwhile, had three runners in the first two frames, including one in the first, which was stranded just 60 feet away from home plate.
Trenton pitcher Chanel Pash was able to work around the early runners and eventually settled into her groove. Pash would go on to retire 11 of the final 13 batters she faced, throwing six shut out innings. The senior allowed just two hits and two walks all game and struck out eight.
The Trenton offense finally broke through as well, plating two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth. After the shaky start, Trenton appeared on the verge of breaking through against Gallatin freshman hurler Sarah Lin. Trenton had one hit in the second and a hit and a walk in the third, but could not produce a run. In the fourth, however, first baseman Avery Whitaker belted a one-out triple that started a big inning for the Lady Bulldogs. Whitaker held at third when Cassidy Cotton reached with an infield single. Madi Trump reached on an error in the following at bat, scoring Whitaker and moving Cotton to third base. Rahel Horner, who reached base in every at bat she had in the game, loaded the bases and Maddie Hooyman gave Trenton it’s second run with a single that scored Cotton.
The Lady Bulldogs tacked on an insurance run in the fifth when Kate Lowrey drove in McKinley Hurley, who was pinch running for Pash. That would be more than enough as the Trenton pitching and defense wrapped up the shutout.
Scotlin Hurley stepped onto the mound in the seventh in relief of Pash and promptly sat Gallatin down in one-two-three fashion. Hurley used a good change-up to get the first two batters she faced to strike out looking. A simple ground out capped the game and win for Trenton.
“I thought it was a typical first game out,” Trenton Coach Steve Richman said. “Hitting-wise we showed some signs of not being real sharp, but overall it was a good game. Anytime you can get a win with a shutout it’s a good game.”
With the victory, the Lady Bulldogs established a 1-0 record on the season. Pash earned the win, going to 1-0 on the hill and Hurley earned the save (1).
Trenton goes right back to work tonight, traveling to Carrollton for a road match-up with the Lady Trojans. The first pitch for the contest is set for 5 p.m.
Junior Varsity
The Trenton JV couldn’t follow suit as Gallatin picked up a 4-2 win. The JV Lady Bulldogs yielded three runs on four errors in the top of the first and spent the rest of the game trying to catch up.
Trenton tallied two runs in the bottom of the first on a two-RBI single by Katie Halstead, but those would be the only runs Trenton got as they fell, 4-2. Tosha Wilson and Megan Lynch scored on the hit.
Mallory Hooyman took the loss, despite holding Gallatin to just one run in the final four innings, her only earned run of the contest. Hooyman struck out eight Gallatin batters on the night.
The JV, now 0-1, will be in action on the road against Carrollton tonight as well, following the varsity contest.