The Trenton High School softball team traveled to Cameron on Saturday for the NCMC Nan Carter Tournament and came away with a second-place finish, going 2-1.
Trenton started the tournament off with a dramatic 5-2 win over Polo in the quarterfinals. The Lady Bulldog offense sputtered for six innings, only producing three hits. Polo took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Trenton would rally in the top of the seventh. Makaila Capeder got things started with a single to lead things off. Ally Ockenfels followed with a single and Megan Lynch reached on an error to load the bases. Cassidy Cotton would hit into a fielder’s choice, forcing Capeder out at home. But Whitley Richman hit a sharp bouncer to the shortstop, scoring Ockenfels when the throw home came in too late. Lexie Tolson drove in a run when the Polo third baseman couldn’t handle her hit and Tosha Wilson singled up the middle to give Trenton its first lead of the game. Madi Trump then provided some insurance for the Lady Bulldogs with a triple that scored two runs and pushed the Trenton lead to 5-2, which would end as the game’s final score.
Daryian Otto went five and one-third innings and Mallory Hooyman came on in relief in the sixth. Otto allowed just one earned run on two hits while striking out five. Hooyman, who picked up the win, allowed no runs on two hits in one and two-thirds innings.
Trenton didn’t waste much time offensively in the semifinals against Marceline. Trenton got a single by Cotton and a walk by Richman with one out in the second inning. Wilson then doubled, driving in both runners. Trenton tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Wilson reached on an error and then Trump reached on an error that allowed Wilson to score. McKinley Hurley followed with a walk and Capeder drove in Trump and Hurley with a single, pushing the Trenton lead to 5-0, which would be the final score in the contest. Hooyman again picked up the win, going six innings allowing just two hits while striking out six. Otto worked a scoreless seventh.
The win advanced Trenton to the championship game, where they faced Brookfield, the only team to defeat the Lady Bulldogs so far this season.
Trenton jumped on Brookfield early, plating two runs when Megan Lynch drove a single that scored Trump and Hurley. Brookfield answered with a run in the top of the second inning and tied the game with another run in the third. Brookfield then broke the game open with four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, putting the Lady Bulldogs in a 10-2 hole. Trenton would only get two more runs in the game, suffering its second loss of the year, both coming to Brookfield. Hooyman took the loss in the circle for the Lady Bulldogs, who moved to 9-2 overall on the season.
“Even though the day didn’t end the way we wanted it to, I still felt like we played well today,” Trenton Head Coach John Cowling said. “We had to make a late comeback against Polo and then came out and played a great game against Marceline. I thought our offense was good enough against Brookfield, we just didn’t make enough plays on defense to stay with them. These are games that will make us better in the postseason.”
The Lady Bulldogs will be back on the diamond tonight, playing host to Putnam County on Johnson Field in Trenton. The first pitch is set for 5 o’clock.
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