Trenton evens series with GHS

Trenton's Addison Allaire tossed a complete-game one-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Gainesville.
Trenton's Addison Allaire tossed a complete-game one-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Gainesville.
Photo by C.J. Gish

You can’t win if you can’t score.

And you can’t score if you can’t produce baserunners.

Trenton freshman pitcher Addison Allaire threw a complete-game one-hitter with 14 strikeouts and only one walk as the host Tigers shut out visiting Gainesville High, 2-0, at John A. Vickers Field on Friday night.

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“She pitched phenomenal, and she’s sick,” said Trenton coach Clint Anderson. “She’s been sick all day, but she battled through it, and she threw a good game.”

The loss avenged a 2-0 loss at GHS on March 7 and evened the two-game series at 1-1.

Trenton's Charleigh Philmon attempts a bunt against Gainesville  with teammate Jessica Johnson on third base in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Photo by C.J. Gish Trenton’s Charleigh Philmon attempts a bunt against Gainesville with teammate Jessica Johnson on third base in the bottom of the fifth inning.

“I definitely had to dig deep because I’m not feeling my best,” Allaire said. “It was a struggle, but we got through it.”

Allaire showed no signs of struggling, allowing only two baserunners all night.

“My curveball was really working well today,” she said. “My rise ball was decent but really my curve ball was on.”

Trenton (14-1) got the only runs it would need in the bottom of the first inning.

After Allaire retired the side in order in the top of the first inning, including two strikeouts, the Tigers plated two runs on a walk, a hit, and an error off of GHS freshman pitcher Leanna Bourdage.

“Any time you can get up on a pitcher like that and get the lead, I trust in Addi, she’s going to do her job, but if you get up on a good pitcher like that, that’s big,” Anderson said.

Sophomore Presley Akins walked to lead off the inning, followed by a bunt right in front of home plate by junior Charleigh Philmon.

However, GHS junior catcher Braylin Cook made an errant throw to first to score Akins and send Philmon all the way over to third base.

“We were just trying to move runners and when Presley gets on, we usually do pretty well,” Anderson said. “We always take any kind of help we can get.”

Allaire drove home Philmon with a double to right center field for a 2-0 lead.

“It was going to be a tough hill to climb there, putting ourselves in a hole in the first inning but I’d rather have that play in the first inning than in the sixth or the seventh inning because you have time to make it up,” said GHS coach Chris Chronister. “We just weren’t able to generate any offense.”

Although she walked junior Rihanna Williams with one out in the top of the second, Allaire said the two-run cushion made a difference.

“It really helped me settle down a little bit,” she said. “I was a little nervous coming into today, but I knew my team was behind me and I just had to go do what I needed to do.”

GHS (14-2) was unable to advance Williams as sophomore Emma Barton struck out and sophomore Lana Renicks grounded out to third to end the inning.

Hurricanes’ junior McKenna O’Sullivan doubled to right field to start the top of the seventh inning, ending a streak of 14 in a row retired by Allaire.

However, Allaire got Bourdage to line out to first and then struck out Cook and Williams to end the game.

“At the end of the day, Addison was on her game,” Chronister said. “She pitched a great game, and we weren’t able to generate any offense and the two runs we gave up in the first inning were the difference for sure.”

GHS will host Williston on Monday, but the game has been pushed back half an hour due to the eclipse. JV will play at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 7:30 p.m.

Trenton will host rival Chiefland at 7 p.m. on Monday.

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