Softball Ends Trip With Win  (3/24/07)
During the week of spring break the softball team competed in seven games in the Tucson Invitational (AZ). Although the Trolls played well all week, they did not get a win until their final game when they defeated Eastern Connecticut State University 3-2 in 8 innings. The team was 1-6 for the week and is 1-10 for the season. 

The Trolls opened their week with an 8-1 loss to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. A solo homer by Laura Arendsen in the 4th inning gave the team a 1-0 lead that held until the 7th inning when USAO scored 8 runs. 

The team fell behind early in their second game against Huntington University (IN) and after two innings was down 8-0. Arendsen again came through with a home run that scored two for the Trolls in the 4th inning. However the game ended in the sixth inning on the mercy rule when the score became 12-4. 

On Tuesday, despite recording 10 hits, the Trolls fell to Hastings College (NE), 5-1. They then faced MidAmerica Nazarene University (KS) and again lost by a 5-1 score. 

The team's first opponent on Thursday was Huntington. The Trolls gave up four runs in the second inning and had a hard time recovering from the deficit. A solo homer by Sarah Lerner in the third inning helped the team, but was not enough to create a difference. 
 
Their second opponent for that day was Waldorf College (IA). That game ended in an 11-3 defeat on the mercy rule in the 5th inning.

Rain altered the schedule on the final day of play. The Trolls were able to get one game in against Eastern Connecticut State University. The Trolls gave up one run in the third and one in the fourth to fall behind 0-2. In the fifth inning Michelle Rusticus hit a single to get on base and was eventually brought in by a hit by Megan Schultz.  Sarah Lerner earned a base on a walk in the 6th inning and then scored when Amber Heaney got one through the infield. 

Neither team scored in the 7th inning. In the 8th inning each team started with a runner on second base according to the tie-breaking rules. In the top of the inning the Trolls held Eastern Connecticut's runner by retiring the first three batters. Allison Vanderwerff took the base for the Trolls in the bottom of the inning. After one out, a ground-out to the short stop allowed her to advance to third base. Laura Arendsen came up with the game winning hit when she found a gap to right center to bring Vanderwerff across the plate. 

For the week the Trolls had a .267 batting average with Nichole Heyboer leading the way at .458. Vanderwerff had 8 hits at .320 and Arendsen had 7 hits at .318. Arendsen also tallied 5 RBIs for the week. Kaitlin Heaney pitched for 19 innings for a 1.84 ERA. Jennifer Irvine recorded the win in the final game. 

The Trolls will host Judson College in a conference double header on Tuesday, March 27, at 3:00 pm.  
 
 

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