MARSHALL, Texas — Anchored by several athletes from central Indiana, Trine University is two wins away from a national softball championship.
The Thunder won their fourth-straight elimination game Monday, beating Coe College 4-1 to advance to the championship series.
Whiteland High School graduate Debbie Hill was the star of Monday's win, striking out 10 batters and only allowing one hit in 5 1/3 innings of relief. At the plate, Hill drew a second-inning walk that turned into a Thunder run, then in the third, she belted a two-run homerun to put Trine up 4-1.
Brownsburg's Ashleigh Tranter had an RBI double in the win, the school-record 44th of the season for the Thunder.
Trine features nine players from central Indiana on their roster.
Trine advances to face Salisbury University in a best-of-three series for the Division III national championship. The Thunder reached the championship series last year before dropping two games to Christopher Newport University.
The first game of the series is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6 at noon ET. Game 2 will be played at noon on Wednesday, followed by a third and deciding game, if necessary.
