Tuesday afternoon promised to be an interesting day for Alma Softball, as the MIAA-leading Trine Thunder came to Scots Park to take on the Scots, who were one game behind in the standings going into the doubleheader.

It did not disappoint as the two top teams fought tooth and nail all afternoon, with Trine winning the first game, 4-0 in 11 innings and the Scots coming back to win the nightcap, 10-2, in six innings. After the split, Alma is now 5-2 in the MIAA and 19-7 overall, while the Thunder stands at 7-1 in the league and 17-5 in 2010.

Game one was a pitcher duel that saw Alma Jr. P Tara Leddy (Saginaw, MI/Swan Valley) and Trine Fr. P Andi Gasco each throw 10 scoreless innings before the deciding 11th inning. The Scots mustered four hits in the first game, while the Thunder had nine hits total, four in the final inning.

Tara Leddy pitched a strong game in the loss to Trine

With international rules in place starting in the 10th inning (runner placed on 2nd base to start inning), each team had chances, but neither could convert for a run. The Thunder broke through in the 11th, with four hits and the four runs and were helped by a two-out error by the Scots. Alma had runners on second and third in the bottom half of the frame, but a short fly-out and a strikeout ended the game.

In the nightcap, Alma did not hang their heads and came out swinging, scoring 10 runs on 13 hits en route to the six-inning victory. Jr. P Brittany Grys (Portland, MI/Portland) pitched the entire game, giving up six hits, striking out three and walking none in notching the win.

Jr. CF Kelly Koenigsknecht (Fowler, MI/Fowler) and Sr. 2B Kasey Miller (Grand Ledge, MI/Grand Ledge) each had three hits for the Scots, while Sr. RF Sarah Johnson (Portland, MI/Portland) and So. C Becca DeWyse contributed two a piece. DeWyse also had four RBI's in the second game.

The Scots scored single runs in each of the first three innings, while the Thunder mustered one of their own in the bottom of the first, as Alma led 3-1 heading into the fifth inning. The home team broke the game in the top, as they scored five times on five hits, the big one coming from DeWyse, as she doubled to center field on a full-count. All the damage in the inning came after two quick outs and essentially put the game away.

Trine scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Scots scored two more in the top of the sixth for the 10-2 lead. Again, the big hit was a double to the left field wall by DeWyse, scoring Miller and Sr. SS Houston Verbeck (Burton, MI/Flint Kearsley). Grys retired the side in order in the bottom half of the sixth and the Scots were victorious.