FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech softball team started a new era Thursday afternoon as they opened up their brand-new stadium at Warrior Park by hosting regional rival Taylor University in a doubleheader. Tech took game one of the day, 3-2, before falling 9-3 in the nightcap.
The Warriors took the early lead in their first true home game in 27 years as
Nicolle Sierra drove in
Brianna Glass with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first. Glass extended Tech's lead to 2-0 in the third with a double that plated
Caitlyn Walter to bring the standing-room only crowd to their feet.
After Taylor cut the deficit to one in the top of the fourth, the Orange and Black restored the two-run lead in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI single from
Ashley Alvey. The Trojans made it a 3-2 game in the sixth and had the go-ahead run on first with two outs in the seventh, but
Amanda Shonka shut the door on the visitors to close out complete game win.
Shonka struck out three batters while scattering seven hits over the game while Glass went 2-2 with a pair of stolen bases.
Game two saw the Trojans jump out to a 3-0 lead over the Warriors in the top of the first thanks to a triple and a sacrifice fly, but
Sarah Ratledge worked her way out of the jam to limit the damage to three. Sierra put Tech on the board in the fourth as she singled in Glass.
Glass stared a rally in the sixth as they kicked off the inning with a single up the middle and a stolen base. Following a single from
Ali LeNoue,
Emily Martin delivered a scorcher down the left field line to score a pair of runs and make it a 6-3 game. The Warriors would get the tying run up to the plate, but an out on the base paths and a pair of strikeouts ended the Tech threat.
Taylor tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh and managed to strand two Tech runners in the bottom after a leadoff triple and a walk to salvage the split.
Glass added two more steals in the nightcap along with two hits and a pair of runs.
Tech (6-13) returns to action on Wednesday, March 27 as they host University of Northwestern Ohio in their Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) opener. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. from Warrior Park.
