Trenton Presses On Without Richman, Scores 7-0 Win In Lawson

The Trenton High School softball team trudged on, traveling to Lawson Monday night for its first game since losing outfielder Taylor Richman, who broke her leg in practice Friday.
But with or without Richman, the Trenton Bulldogs are still the Trenton Bulldogs. The team banded together, displaying five tally marks on their arms – a nod toward Richman’s jersey number – and shut out the Lawson Cardinals 7-0 for Trenton’s 11th win of the season.
“We played well tonight considering everything our girls have been through in the last few days,” Trenton head coach John Cowling said. “The middle of our order really carried us tonight and our defense played well, making several nice plays.”
The game needed all seven innings to complete, marking the first time that Trenton has played a game that went the distance since Aug. 24. That was 17 days ago and in that span Trenton reeled off five wins, all via various run rules.
Despite going seven innings, Monday night’s outcome wasn’t in doubt for very long. Sidney Lynch launched her second home run of the season in the top of the second inning, a shot that wouldn’t have cleared the fence, but the ball popped out of the Lawson left fielder’s glove when she collided with the fence and wound up beyond the wall for the game’s first run.
Lynch tacked on another RBI in the fourth, driving in Kennedy Norton (who was running for Salem Croy after she led the inning off with a double) with an RBI double. Lynch then scored on a two-run home run by Lexi Whitaker, her third of the year.
Lynch and Lexi Whitaker each scored again in the sixth on an RBI single by Ashten Whitaker to push the Trenton lead to 6-0. Croy’s second double of the game leading off the seventh led to courtesy runner Norton eventually scoring the game’s final run on a Cardinal error.
Croy finished the night three-for-four, Lynch was three-for-three with three runs scored and two RBIs and Lexi Whitaker went two-for-four with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Jayden Roeder, Ashten Whitaker and McKayla Blackburn each added hits to the 11-hit attack.
In the circle, Ainsley Tolson struck out four, allowing three hits in six innings. Blackburn pitched the seventh, allowing one hit and striking out one.
With the win, Trenton moved to 11-1 overall on the season.
Trenton returns to the diamond tonight, playing its final Grand River Conference East Division game. The Bulldogs will be in Unionville to take on the Putnam County Midgets at 5:30. A win seals the GRC title for Trenton and would place them in the conference championship, where they would take on the West Division champion on Thursday, Sept. 21. It is the East Division’s year to host crossover games, meaning Trenton would host the GRC championship game.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Trenton junior varsity kept its undefeated campaign alive on Monday night, with a 4-3 victory over Lawson.
Trenton took advantage of Lawson mistakes, scoring all four runs on Cardinal errors. The Bulldogs only logged two hits in the contest, coming from Jaycie Griffin in the fourth inning and Sara Spencer in the fifth. Both would both go on to score following Lawson mishaps.
In the fifth and final inning, Lawson trailed by one with the bases loaded and no outs. A line-drive to first-baseman Mackenzie McAtee, followed by a touch of her base, gave Trenton a much needed double play. Following a walk, Norton fielded a scorching grounder and threw to first to end the game.
“Our offense wasn’t great tonight, so we had to be sharp defensively,” Trenton JV coach Kameron Cool said. “It was great to see our girls respond well to tight situations.”
In the circle, Blackburn gave up just one unearned run on one hit and one walk while striking out nine Cardinals in three innings of JV work. Jillian Nichols would finish the night for the Bulldogs, going two innings, giving up two runs on three hits and four walks.
Trenton’s JV will be in action in Unionville tonight as well, taking on the Putnam County junior varsity, following the varsity match-up.