Playoff-bound Trinity eliminates TJ
Trinity senior Hali Justice makes it safely to second base after hitting a double against Thomas Jefferson Tuesday. Above, Trinity’s Paige Galentine delivers a pitch Tuesday. Galentine pitched a three-hitter as the Hillers clinched a WPIAL Class AAA playoff berth with the victory.
Trinity senior Hali Justice gets a high-five from head coach Shawn Gray after catching the final out Tuesday.
Trinity senior Hali Justice makes it safely to second base after hitting a double against Thomas Jefferson Tuesday.
The start mattered more than the finish for the Trinity softball team in their playoff-clinching 6-0 win against Thomas Jefferson in Section 3-AAA Tuesday at Hiller Field.
Thomas Jefferson’s loss eliminated the defending WPIAL champions from playoff contention. The Hillers got a little revenge because they were knocked out in the playoffs by these same Jaguars in last year’s quarterfinals.
“Obviously, this is a big one,” Trinity head coach Shawn Gray said. “Getting into the playoffs was one of our main goals at the beginning of the year. It was what the team was striving for. There are a lot of seniors on this team and they deserve it. The team has a lot of talent.”
The Hillers scored five of their six runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back.
“We always like to play with a cushion, and it was big to get those five runs,” Gray said. “We knew they were going to battle us. It was the same thing the first time we played them. We scored early but they came back. Paige (Galentine) came through and kept them down throughout the game.”
The Hillers (8-3, 12-4) used a balanced attack in the first inning, receiving hits and an RBI from five different players.
The onslaught came right after the Jaguars (4-5, 6-7) were unable to capitalize on their first of many opportunities, leaving runners stranded on second and third in the top of the first.
The Jaguars left 11 runners on base, including the bases loaded twice.
“We left 23 runners on base the last two games,” Thomas Jefferson head coach Heidi Karcher said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we are making the playoffs with this loss. It is a little bit of a disappointment. It hurts losing these seniors. I thought we were going to be able to do it, and we couldn’t pull through. We couldn’t manufacture the runs.”
The Hillers tacked on another run in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout by Shelby Clemens, who also had an RBI in the first inning on a single. She finished the game 1-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base.
Galentine, a junior right-handed pitcher, was able to continuously weather the storm to keep the shutout alive. Though she only allowed three hits, Galentine had to work out of trouble because of her eight walks.
“She gave up three hits,” Gray said. “She forced our defense to play. That is what we expect from them. We are not looking for a (boat) load of strikeouts. That just isn’t the kind of pitcher she is.”
Penn State recruit Delaney Elling, a junior first baseman, and senior Hali Justice led the Hillers with two hits. Justice also scored two runs.
For the Jaguars, leadoff hitter Rachael Bowers reached base every at bat, recording four walks.
“They knocked us out of the playoffs last year and we just knocked them out,” Gray said. “There is a little bit of a revenge there. The bigger thing for us was to just make the playoffs.”