April 14, 2007

JACKSON -- The visiting Trinity Tigers used a Michelle Gossein solo shot to centerfield in extra frames to top Millsaps, 3-2, in the series opener before the Tigers rallied for five runs in the third inning of Game 2 to cruise to a 6-2 win and a twinbill sweep on an overcast, windy afternoon at the Millsaps Softball Field.

Millsaps (10-20, 5-5 SCAC West) lit up the scoreboard first in Game 1, plating a single run in the bottom of the first frame when sophomore Tiffany Ladnier reached base safely on an error and crossed the plate two batters later on a wild pitch from Trinity hurler Erin Mulvey.

Trinity (21-9, 8-2 SCAC West) responded with two runs of its own in the third inning, using a Jamie Williams RBI-triple and a Katie Longacre RBI-single with two outs to take a 2-1 lead.

The Majors knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third and the game stayed tied the remaining four innings of scheduled ball, before Gossein's linedrive home run into 17 mph winds with two outs in the top of the eighth broke the tie and sent the Tigers to their sixth-straight conference win.

Senior Erin Mulvey (11-4) picked up the win for Trinity in the circle, scattering 10 strikeouts, five hits and two runs [one earned] in a complete game performance.

In the Saturday closer, Trinity plated five runs [all unearned] in the third frame off five hits and an error, using an RBI-single from Longacre, a two RBI-double from Erin Fodness and a two-RBI single from Amy Blaha to take a 6-0 lead into the fourth inning.

In the fourth, Millsaps rallied for a pair of runs to cut the margin to 6-2 when Josie Manley crossed the plate off a Sam Hill single and Erica Douglas singled home Kasey Thibodeaux.

That's as close as the Majors would get, however, as Jillian Degerness retired nine of the final 11 batters she faced to pick up her eighth win of the year against only two losses. The senior from Woodbury, Minn., scattered seven hits, five strikeouts and only two runs in seven innings of work in the circle.

Freshman Brittney McAllister (7-3) was hit with the loss for Millsaps, snapping a streak of seven consecutive wins dating back to the Majors' first win of 2007, a 7-5 win over Piedmont College at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland.

With the doubleheader sweep, Trinity remains in first place in the SCAC West standings at 8-2 while Hendrix moves into second at 6-4 with a twinbill sweep in Conway, Ark., and Millsaps falls to third at 5-5.

The two teams will conclude their 4-game set on Sunday with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.