EXCLAMATION POINT

Trenton Closes Tourney Title With 12-0 Rout Of Irish

One moment, the St. Joseph Lafayette softball team found itself taking the field for the championship game of the Cameron Tournament. Before the Irish could blink, they were down 7-0.
Such is life for opponents of the Trenton Bulldogs in 2018.
Trenton ran the tables Saturday in Cameron, capping a 4-0 day with a 12-0 victory over Lafayette in five innings to lay claim to the tournament title.
“I told the girls the best thing about today was that we played progressively better throughout the day,” Trenton Head Coach John Cowling said. “Every game we did things better, whether it was defense, pitching or hitting.”
The Bulldogs took all of the drama out of the championship tilt, sending 12 hitters to the plate in the top of the first and posting the seven-run spot on the scoreboard before Lafayette even had a chance to bat.
“We just took the air out of their sails,” Cowling said. “I think (Lafayette) probably came in expecting to win in this game and to put a seven spot up, a touchdown, in the first inning was a good start for us.”
When Lafayette did get to the plate, the Irish put runners at the corners with one out. But any hopes of a comeback were crushed by Trenton pitcher Ainsley Tolson, who struck out the next two batters to quell the threat and start what would be a long night for Lafayette at the plate.
Tolson went the distance in the circle, shutting out Lafayette over the five-inning contest, while striking out 10 batters. In the bottom of the fifth, Tolson struck out the side to cap her dominating performance and clinch the championship.
“When (Tolson) is on and she wants a game like she wanted this one, it’s going to be tough to get anything off of her,” Cowling said. “She was excited all night and I think you saw it in her hitting and her pitching. She just wasn’t going to give up very much.”
Trenton’s offense put an exclamation point on the tournament title with its performance in the top of the fifth. Leading 9-0, Maci Moore, Salem Croy and Sidney Lynch blasted back-to-back-to-back solo home runs to push the lead to 12-0 and put the 10-run rule into play. Moore and Croy both put their home runs over the leftfielder’s head while Lynch’s bomb was just right of center field.
“Maci hit hers and, you know, she is someone you have confidence in anytime she steps in the box and the same with Sidney,” Croy said. “But, when Maci hit hers, I looked at the umpire and I said ‘well that’s going to be hard to follow.’ Then somehow, I guess you just barrel it up. We go up to bat thinking ‘I’m going to hit it’ every single time and I think that mindset really helps us out.”
“In the first inning I thought our eyes were big,” Cowling said. “Going up to the plate we were just chomping, ready to go. Then in the fifth, three good swings. That’s what happens when our approach is just nice and easy and we put the bat on the ball. Those girls are so strong. Sidney’s, I don’t know if it’s landed yet,”
Moore finished the championship 2-for-4 with the home run and four RBIs. Croy was two-for-four as well with her home run and two RBIs and Lynch was one-for-three with the solo shot. Tolson, meanwhile, had a perfect night at the plate, going three-for-three with two RBIs and a walk. Mykah Hurley added two hits for Trenton.
By the time Tolson struck out the final Lafayette batter, it was pushing 11 p.m. The day started for Trenton at 8 a.m. after wet field conditions compacted what was supposed to be a two-day event into one marathon of a day. Trenton played two pool play games and a semifinal before closing the night with the championship. Through the middle two games, temperatures ranged from 95-98 degrees with a heat index as high as 103.
“It’s hard,” Croy said. “It’s so hot outside, but we are able to look past that due to playing in the summer and everything.”
Trenton opened the day with a 5-1 win over Savannah in pool play, despite having just one hit in the contest. Croy belted a bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the fifth to break the game open for the Bulldogs. Tolson was the winning pitcher, throwing six innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out six.
Trenton made up for the lack of offense in game two, pounding out 18 hits in a 14-1 rout of DeKalb. Tolson was four-for-five in the win with two runs and five RBIs. Hurley went four-for five as well and drove in three runs. Taylor Richman was three-for-four with two runs, McKayla Blackburn was two-for-three with three runs and Lexi Whitaker and Croy each added two hits as well. Blackburn picked up the win, throwing five innings with one run allowed on two hits while striking out five.
In the semifinals, Trenton topped Mid-Buchanan 10-3. Moore was two-for-four with a home run and three RBIs and Lynch was two-for-four with three RBIs as well. Hurley had a hit and two RBIs and Tolson and Croy each had two-hit games. Tolson was the winning pitcher, throwing six innings with three hits and no earned runs allowed. Blackburn fired the seventh without allowing an earned run.
Trenton established a 4-0 record with the tournament victory. The Bulldogs will dive into Grand River Conference play on Tuesday with their home opener against Putnam County. Action at Griffin Field in Trenton is slated to begin at 5 p.m.