Apr 9, 2026 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

The Baldwin softball team came to Trinity on Thursday with an intent to put pressure on from the first batter of the game.

It’s an identity that has the Highlanders at the top of Class 5A Section 4 and it worked again against the Hillers.

The first five batters reached base in the top of the first inning and all of them came into score, giving the Highlanders a huge advantage early and they went on to beat Trinity 10-5.

“We steal constantly, we bunt and run a lot, because we want to keep it fun for the girls, but at the same time it creates pressure,” Baldwin coach Ron Santillo said. “That’s what we preach. The execution really came together in the first inning.”

The win kept Baldwin (6-0, 9-1) in sole possession of first place. The Highlanders beat second-place Thomas Jefferson and Trinity on consecutive days. Trinity (4-2, 9-2) is in third place in the standings.

Baldwin scored five runs in the first inning and only two balls left the infield.

Ava Bonacci led off the game with an infield single and then stole second base immediately. Cam Temme brought Bonacci in with an RBI single to shallow left field. Jordan Gerendash laid down a sacrifice, but it led to a throwing error, and Reese Temme followed with another infield single that brought in a run. Avery Herrington singled up the middle to load the bases.

Mackenzie Bowen and Teaghan Scanlon brought home runs on RBI groundouts and Reese Temme scored on a wild pitch.

Trinity coach Shawn Gray said the Hillers could’ve been cleaner defensively, but credited Baldwin for their speed on the basepaths.

“We had at least four errors by my count,” Gray said. “That put us in a hole that we couldn’t get out of. If you give up that many errors against a good team, you’re going to find yourself in a big hole.

“They have some speed on that team and speed hurts. When you’re trying to concentrate on the ball and you have to worry about runners beating you out on the throw, that’s a problem. It’s something we’ll have to deal with and be better prepared for next time.”

Gerendash had an RBI double in the second inning to increase Baldwin’s lead to 6-0, but Trinity started to chip away in the third.

Madelyn Hall and Alexa Zawacki had back-to-back doubles to give the Hillers their first run. Meredith Ashby, a courtesy runner for Zawacki, later scored on an RBI groundout by Nina Christy.

Trinity got the tying run on deck with one out in the fourth after Gabby Humphreys singled and Charlotte Hinkler reached on an error. Hall worked a 3-0 count on Baldwin pitcher Melina Defelice, but Defelice battled back to strike her out. Zawacki also got to a three-ball count in the next at-bat, but Defelice got her to ground out to shortstop to end the frame.

“We don’t even worry when she gets down 3-0, because she’ll come back with pitches,” Santillo said. “She has enough spin to get some foul balls and she’s just tough.”

Baldwin scored four runs in the fifth to put the game away. Cam Temme hit an opposite field home run to begin the inning and Baldwin ended up sending 10 batters to the plate.

Trinity got three runs in the seventh. Nina Christy belted a two-run homer to dead center in the inning. The comeback ended up coming short, but it gave the Hillers some confidence heading into the rematch on April 22.

“We started seeing the ball a lot better,” Gray said. “We were holding off on the outside pitches and worrying about keeping it within our zone. That improved as the game went on.”

Baldwin 510 040 0 – 10 8 2

Trinity 002 000 3 – 5 9 2

W-Defelice (1 walk, 6 strikeouts). L-Humphreys (2 walks, 3 strikeouts) 2B-Baldwin, Gerendash. Trinity, Zawacki 2, Hall. HR-Baldwin, C. Temme. Trinity, Christy.