Trojans dominate the week against regional foes

If Triton College softball coach Ken Jurasz had been told two months earlier his team would be 19-5 in early April, he would have taken that record in a heartbeat.

Thanks to continued stellar pitching from Danielle Hoffmann and Amelia Rieger and roster-wide productive hitting, the Trojans swept three doubleheaders last week to exceed Jurasz's pre-season expectations. The six victories against Moraine Valley Community College, Harper College and Morton College gave Triton momentum for the meat of their schedule leading into the postseason.

Hoffman now has 95 strikeouts, ranking second in Region 4, in just 50 innings. She also ranks second (seven homers) to star Jocelyn Gonzalez (nine) in power production, logging time in left field when she is not pitching.

But Rieger's development as a pitcher has given Jurasz a pair of aces, lengthening his pitching staff. He gives credit to Rieger's work with pitching coach Shelby Dalton for her steadfastness in the circle.

"Mimi's put in so much work in the off-season," Jurasz said. "She's taken to Shelby like a mother figure. She's worked so hard on her spin rate. If I didn't have Danni, Mimi was capable of being the ace of the staff."

Rieger also did her best mimicry of Hoffman's slugging feats in a 20-6 victory over Moraine Valley on March 28. While working six innings without allowing an earned run, Rieger slugged two homers, collected two doubles while driving in four runs.

Hoffman racked up six strikeouts in four innings in a 12-4 victory in Game 2. She had seven RBI's in the doubleheader with a homer, double and single. Also enjoying great days at bat were Isabella Bruno with a homer, triple and two singles, and Kelley Tyler with a double and single.

On April 3, Triton swept Harper College 13-5 and 12-5. Rieger won the opener, striking out six in five innings. Hoffmann was at her best in the nitecap, whiffing 15 in seven innings. Meanwhile, she amassed six hits, including three homers, along with six RBIs in the sweep.

Gonzalez had two homers, a double and single, totaling six RBIs in the two games. Mackenzie Bickhaus had two triples, two doubles and six RBIs. Autumn Kelleher collected a homer, double and single.

On April 5, Triton thumped Morton 30-4 and 20-1. Freshman Emily Cruz started Game 1, amassing five strikeouts in three innings while assuring future outings for Jurasz.

"Shelby loved her spin," he said. "The command she showed was great."

Emani Torres also recorded two quality innings in relief.

Hoffmann had another big day at bat with seven hits, including two homers and a double and eight RBIs. Three bench players also had good days. Ashley Mendelson hit her first home run along with a single and two RBIs.  Liliana Mar – filling in at third base – had a two-run single. Camryn Vawter had a double, single and an RBI.
 
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)