Alma, Mich. - The Alma College softball team won its second straight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with a 10-2 win over Trine University in six innings on Friday. With the win, the Scots secure a spot in the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Softball Tournament. Alma's opponent and the location of the opening round games will be announced as part of the NCAA selection show on Monday, May 8 at 1 p.m. on ncaa.com.

Alma began the title game with back-to-back home runs by sophomore McKenzie Creed (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) and senior Danielle Service (Mason, Mich./Mason) in the bottom of the first inning. Service has a career-high nine home runs this year, good for fourth in the conference. Creed's shot was her fourth of the season, giving her one more than her freshman year total.

Alma kept the pressure on after the two home runs. Riley Terwilliger (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart Academy) singled to left field and Katie McClure (Manchester, Mich./Manchester) brought her home with a double to right-center to give Alma a 4-0 lead after one.

Trine got two runs back by the fourth inning off a solo home run and a bloop double down the left field line. Those were the only two runs and two of the five hits allowed by senior Morgan Stratton (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) on the day. Stratton struck out eight Trine batters in the championship game. In Alma's three-game conference postseason, she allowed an average of 1.6 runs, 3.6 hits, an opponent batting average of .162 and six strikeouts.

In the fourth inning, Alma picked up three more runs. Erin Lee (Commerce, Mich./Walled Lake Northern) doubled down the right field line scoring McClure from second. Anna Couture (Posen, Mich./Posen) followed that up with a double to right-center, plating Lee and Cassidy Tucker (Coleman, Mich./Coleman). Couture went 3-for-4 against the Thunder. She ended the postseason going 5-for-10 and drawing two walks.

The Scots ended the game in the sixth inning by the eight-run mercy rule. With Couture on first and Chelsea Schweiger (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair) on second, Creed singled to left field, picking up her third and fourth RBI on the day. Creed went 7-of-12 with eight RBI in Alma's three games this weekend. She scored the championship-clinching run on Service's single to right-center field.

Contact: Zach Russo, Assistant Sports Information Director, (989) 463-7436