It took eight weeks but the hard work of the Triton College softball team finally paid off as the Trojans earn their first National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II ranking of the season.
Triton claimed the No. 18 spot in the poll released by the NJCAA April 26.
The Trojans enter the week 34-7 after sweeping a pair from Highland Community College April 24 in River Grove by finals of 7-0 and 5-1. The Cougars came into the doubleheader ranked No. 20, but it was the combination of
Alyssa Stramaglia and
Alexis Maldonado on the hill who shutdown Highland.
Stramaglia dazzled in game one with a complete game shutout. The Melrose Park native had her A-game from the start en route to a career-high 19 strikeout performance to improve to 13-3 on the season. Stramaglia struck out the side in six of the seven innings, allowing just two hits on 112 pitches.
Triton gave Stramaglia all the offense she needed in a three-run first inning. The Trojans took advantage of a hit batter and Cougar error as
Kailey Kirkwood (Leyden) singled to center with two outs to bring home
Melissa Gonzalez (Guerin Prep) and
Celeste Boshold (Elmwood Park). Kirkwood would then score on a
Geneva Pollman (South Elgin) RBI single.
A Gonzalez sacrifice fly would score
Carissa Bombardiere (Geneva) in the home half of the fifth. Bombardiere led off the frame with a triple. Triton would tack three more in the sixth which was more than enough for Stramaglia who struck out nine of the last 10 batters she faced.
In the game two, Maldonado (Morton) pitched efficiently to up her mark to a perfect 9-0. Though not as overwhelming as Stramaglia, the results were the same as the Trojan defense led by a pair of great double-plays turned by Boshold at shortstop in each of the first two innings helped set the tone.
Samanta Nelson (Taft) put Triton on the board in the second with an RBI single to plate Boshold. But the big hit of the game came from ninth-place hitter
Erianna Claudio. The freshman from De La Salle in the fifth came through with a two-out, two-run single to center to give the Trojans a 3-0 advantage. Boshold and Nelson would add some insurance with RBI's in the sixth inning.
Maldonado lost her shutout bid after a Kierra Schulz homer with one out in the seventh. However, that was all Highland can do against her in yielding just four hits and striking out four to get the complete-game victory.
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