The #3 seed Alma College Softball team came into Friday needing one win to earn the MIAA Championship, while the #1 seed and host Trine University needed to win three contests to claim the top spot.

The Thunder defeated Saint Mary's in an elimination game early in the day and then beat Alma 13-5 in five innings to set up a one-game showdown later in the afternoon. The two long-time rivals did not disappoint and played a game that will be remembered for a long time.

With the victory, the Thunder earned the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament, while the Scots will not have to wait for the Selection Show on Monday morning to see if they have done enough to earn an at large bid to the tourney.

The Scots left Angola with an overall record of 25-15, while Trine is now 37-3 as they await their fate for next week.

MIAA Championship Round: Trine 13, Alma 5 (5 innings)

30 minutes after Trine Univesity defeated the Belles, the Scots had the opportunity to knock them out of the tournament. So. P Morgan Stratton (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc) started in the circle for Alma as the Scots were the visitor in the contest.

The Scots did not score in their first half of the first, but Trine jumped on Stratton from the get go, scoring four runners in the bottom of the frame to take an early 4-0 lead. Two singles and a homerun gave them three runs, and after the second out, another homerun gave the Thunder their final run.

After a scoreless second inning, it was time for the Scots to show some offensive firepower. With one out, So. 2B Anna Couture (Posen/Posen) walked and that was followed by another walk by Jr. DP Kayla Merice (Dorr/Wayland).

So. Celeste Boyer (South Lyon/South Lyon East) pinch ran for Merice and her and Couture advanced a base on a single by Sr. SS Devan Olah (White Lake/Lakeland) to load the bases. Up next for Alma was Sr. 3B Lea Lusk (Columbiaville/Lakeville), who proceeded to crush a grand slam to center field to tie the game at 4-4.

The high powered Thunder answered right back with a five-spot in the bottom of the third to regain an advantage of 9-4. The big hits were a double and a three-run homer that sandwiched a sacrifice fly, as Trine chased Stratton from the circle. She was replaced by Sr. P Samantha Pierce (Clarklake/Michigan Center).

Alma did not score in their half of the fourth, and Trine added one additional run off against Pierce, on another homerun. The Scots notched one run on three hits in the top half of the fifth when Olah singled to start the inning. Pinch runner Fr. Erin Lee (Commerce/Walled Lake Northern) ran for Olah and advanced to third on a double by Fr. RF Mary Brooks (Portland/Portland).

Lee came into score on a single by Jr. 1B Sarah Collier (Fenton/Fenton) but Alma could only muster the one run to cut the deficit to 10-5. That paved the way for the Thunder to close it out in the bottom of the fifth.

Trine notched three runs on three hits and were helped by two Scots errors as ended the game by going up 13-5. Pierce pitched to two batters in the inning, while Fr. P Katie McClure (Manchester/Manchester) came on in relief and recorded two outs before the game ended on Alma error.

MIAA Championship Game: Trine 8, Alma 7 (8 Innings)

The final game of the day and tournament was a doozy. Stratton again started in the circle for the Scots and gave up a lead off homerun in the top of the first inning. But, Alma responded quickly as Merice doubled with one out and moved to third on a single by Lusk with two down. Brooks came through with a single to left and the game was tied at 1-1 after one inning.

In the top of the third, a hit batter and back to back triples gave the Thunder a 3-1 lead. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth, when the Scots exploded for four runs to take a 5-3 advantage.

In that big fourth, Lusk singled and Brooks doubled to lead off the frame. Lee pinch ran for Brooks but both runners stayed put as Sr. LF Brooke Hein (Grand Rapids/Northview) singled to shortstop to load the bases. Sr. C Cori Witham (North Muskegon/North Muskegon) followed with a single to center that scored two runs.

Spencer pinch ran for Witham and moved to second on a wild pitch as Hein scampered across the plate. After a ground out, Couture doubled to left center, scoring Spencer and giving the Scots a two-run lead.

Trine closed the gap to 5-4 in the top of the sixth, when an Alma error paved the way for the Thunder to score an unearned run. In the bottom of the same frame, the Scots added two of their own for a 7-4 advantage. Alma recorded two hits and there was one Trine error. Olah (walk) and Lusk (fly out) earned the two RBI's for the Scots, with Sr. CF Marie Zill (Chelsea/Chelsea) and Couture scoring the runs.

The Scots were three outs from an MIAA Championship.

In the seventh, a single and a strikeout started the frame. After a fielder's choice, there were two outs and the Scots still led by three. A double by Amy Newell against Stratton scored one run to make it a 7-5 game. That brought up Rachelle Noble to plate and she proceeded to homer to center field to tie the contest in unbelievable fashion.

After a one, two, three seventh for Alma, the Thunder's Kaitlyn Clark homered to center to give Trine an 8-7 lead in the top half of inning number eight. Couture singled for Alma to start the bottom half of the frame, but the Scots could not muster any more offense and Trine had the improbable comeback and the 2015 MIAA Championship.

Known for their power, Trine hit seven homeruns in the two games against Alma on Friday afternoon, clearly the difference in the matchups. Stratton was outstanding in the tournament and had a decision (2-2) in all four games.