LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Trine University softball team has opened the 2020 season ranked fourth by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA) preseason poll. It is the highest that the Thunder have started the season ranked by the poll.
The team received 176 points in the opening poll to take the fourth spot. It is the first time that the Thunder have begun the season ranked in the top-five, the previous high was sixth which has happened to begin a few seasons most recently in 2017. The defending national champions from Texas Lutheran University were the unanimous number one in the poll.
Trine finished last season with a deep run in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Tournament finishing in a tie for third, the highest finish by a Trine University team since the institution joined the NCAA.
The team could be poised to make another run at the title this season having graduated just three members of last year's team.
The Thunder return three members that were named to the 2019 NCAA Division III All-Central Region Team.
Standout infielder Makenna Hartline (Niles, Mich. / Brandywine) returns to the lineup and the field after getting the nod as a first-team member last season. She also was named the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Player of the Year. She led the team with 11 home runs, a .503 on-base percentage, a .727 slugging percentage and 35 walks.
In the circle, Hannah Kampmann (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin Derham Hall) returns to the team having been named to as a second-team selection to the all-region team. She was also named the MIAA Pitcher of the Year. She finished the regular season leading the team with 83 strikeouts and second with a 1.51 ERA. She finished MIAA play with a perfect 7-0 record and topped the stat chart with wins and strikeouts (44).
The final returning all-region player is Mercede Daugherty (Watervilet, Mich. / Watervilet) who was a third-team selection. She led the team with 16 doubles and finished second with 50 hits. She came in third on the squad with 35 runners batted in.
Trine will begin the 2020 season on Sunday, March 1 as they begin their spring break slate of games in Clermont, Fla. They start with a contest against Northland College which is scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m.