On Thursday, the Alma College Softball team began play in the 2013 MIAA Tournament in Angola, Ind. The Scots (25-9, 13-3 MIAA) entered the competition, hosted by Trine University, as the #2 seed and took on #3 seed Adrian College (17-15, 11-5 MIAA) at 11:00 a.m.

Alma defeated Adrian 1-0 in a tight fought defensive contest and will now move forward in the winners bracket. The Scots will play Trine, who beat Hope 2-1 at 5:30 p.m. in Angola.

The only run of the game came in the bottom of the third inning when Sr. RF Amanda Schneider (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) singled with one out, stole second and moved to third on a ground out. The next hitter, So. 3B Lea Lusk (Columbiaville, Mich./Lakeville) doubled to left field scoring Schneider and giving the Scots the all-important 1-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs could muster just three hits off of Alma and o Sr. P Louise Rezmer (Essexville, Mich./Bay City All Saints) and only had two runners reach second and one that made it to third. Rezmer did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and not even a single in the seventh could rattle the senior right hander.

Rezmer pitched all seven innings, gave up three hits and struck out 10 to improve to 15-4 on the season. Schneider was one for two at the plate with a run and a stolen base, while Lusk finished one for three with the double and RBI. Four other players had a single hit for the Scots in the win.

The Scots are the defending tournament champions, having beaten Trine on their home field in 2012 to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Since 2007, the tournament champion has been either Trine or Alma and this year's competition looks to be as competitive as ever for all four teams.

Players to watch for the Scots include Schneider, who leads the team in hitting at .416 and has a team-high 10 doubles and three triples with 20 RBI's. Sr. IF Kayla Smart (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) has a team-best 27 RBI's and is hitting .380 an has added seven doubles.

Others are Fr. C Cori Witham (M. Muskegon, Mich./N. Muskegon) who is hitting .389 and Lusk, who is at .384 with 23 RBI's, six doubles and three triples.

In the circle, the Scots are paced by Rezmer (Essexville, Mich./Bay City All Saints) who has a record of 14-2 and an ERA of 1.30 (2nd in MIAA). She is the league leader in strikeouts with 162 in 112.2 innings pitched.

2013 MIAA Softball Tournament Field

Thursday, May 2 at Trine 
Game 1: #2 Alma 1, #3 Adrian 0
Game 2: #1 Trine 2, #4 Hope 1
Game 3: #3 Adrian 3, #4 Hope 1 (Hope eliminated)
Game 4: Alma vs. Trine, 5:30 p.m. LiveStats