THE MACHINE ROLLS ALONG

Moore, Croy Homer As Trenton Romps Past Gallatin, 14-2

Through three Grand River Conference games, the Trenton High School softball team has been pushed at times.
But the Bulldogs have yet to find a team that can hang with them.
That was the case again on Tuesday night as Trenton found itself down early before rolling up another GRC foe with a 14-2 win over Gallatin in five innings at Griffin Field.
Trenton trailed 1-0 after the top of the first and left the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame. Gallatin then led off the top of the second with a double, seemingly having all of the momentum.
That, however, was when Trenton put its foot down.
The Bulldogs ripped off four runs in the bottom of the second inning, all with two outs. Jayden Roeder singled and Ashten Whitaker walked and the two runners advanced to second and third on the second out of the inning. Roeder then scored on a wild pitch and an error on the throw from the catcher to home plate allowed Whitaker to scamper in, giving Trenton its first lead of the game. Mykah Hurley followed with a single and Salem Croy belted her third home run of the season as Trenton grabbed the game by the throat.
“I liked how our girls responded to being down early,” Trenton Head Coach John Cowling said. “They didn’t panic and stuck with our game plan at the plate. There just isn’t an easy out with this group top to bottom right now.”
Pitcher Ainsley Tolson needed just three pitches to put Gallatin away in the top of the third as Trenton’s momentum continued to swell. In the bottom of the third, Trenton broke the visitors’ will, scoring eight times to push the game out of reach.
Freshman Maci Moore led off the frame with a double and closed the scoring that inning with her first career home run, a two-run blast. Croy and Hurley each had two-run singles in the big inning as well.
Gallatin plated one run in the top of the fourth, but Trenton denied the visitors a chance for more, closing the inning with a 4-6-3 double play.
Trenton answered with its final two runs of the game in the bottom of the inning. Lexi Whitaker singled and stole second before scoring on an RBI hit by Tolson. Tolson eventually came around and scored on a wild pitch, pushing the Trenton lead to 14-2.
There would be no bottom of the fifth after Tolson put Gallatin away again to end the game by the 10-run rule after four and a half innings. Tolson took the win on the hill, her sixth of the season, throwing five frames with five hits allowed and five strikeouts – the first of which was the 300th of her career.
At the plate, Tolson was three-for-four with two runs scored and an RBI. Croy was two-for-two, driving in four runs and Hurley went two-for-three with two runs and two RBIs. Moore was two-for-four with a double, home run, two runs scored and two RBIs and Roeder was two-for-three with a run scored. Lexi Whitaker had two hits and two runs and Taylor Richman, Sidney Lynch and Ashten Whitaker all had one hit each. It marked the second time this season that all nine Bulldogs in the lineup recorded a hit.
The win vaulted Trenton to 7-1 overall and 3-0 within the Grand River Conference. The Bulldogs will be back at home on Thursday, hosting another GRC rival in South Harrison. That game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch at Griffin Field.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Trenton JV remained undefeated on the season as well, scoring a 12-0 win over Gallatin’s second unit to go to 4-0 overall.
Sara Spencer had a big night for Trenton going three-for-three with three RBIs and three runs scored. Sarah Jordan was one-for-one with two walks and also had three RBIs. Jaycie Griffin went one-for-two with a walk and two RBIs and Moore went one-for-one with a walk and two RBIs.
McKayla Blackburn went five innings for Trenton’s JV, surrendering no runs on only three hits while striking out eight.
Trenton’s JV also hosts South Harrison on Thursday, following the varsity contest.
GRC Softball Standings
Team, GRC Record
Trenton, 3-0
Putnam County, 3-0
Milan, 2-1
Polo, 1-1
Maysville, 1-2
South Harrison, 1-2
Gallatin, 0-2
Princeton, 0-3