FREELAND, Mich. -- Senior Mercede Daugherty (Watervliet, Mich. / Watervliet) has been named the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association's (MIAA) 2021 Most Valuable Player and seven Trine University softball student-athletes have been named to All-MIAA teams it was announced on Monday, May 17.
The Thunder, who finished as MIAA regular-season co-champions, had an association-high four student-athletes named first team All-MIAA while also coming in with three selections to the second team.
In addition to being named MVP, Daugherty came in as a first team selection for the Thunder. Daugherty who was recently named to the NFCA All-Region second team was a menace in the batter's box throughout the season. She finished first during MIAA games with a .462 batting average, a .525 on-base percentage and 24 hits. She also finished second with seven doubles, 23 RBIs and a .769 slugging percentage.
Daugherty led the Thunder in doubles, batting average and slugging percentage while finishing in second in on-base percentage and in hits.
Two other position players made the first team for the Thunder including sophomore Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) and junior Ashley Swartout (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield).
Swartout led the MIAA with nine homers overall and five during league competition. She also came in a tie for third with 19 RBIs during conference games and first on the team with 35 RBIs overall. She finished second on the team and fifth during the overall season with a .653 slugging percentage, in just conference games she finished with a .692 slugging percentage fourth.
Prather anchored the Thunder defense at the shortstop position. She led the team in assists with 62 and came in a tie for ninth among MIAA competition during conference games with 25. She finished third on the team with an overall slugging percentage of .630, fourth on the team with a .438 on-base percentage and with a .361 batting average.
The final first team selection for the Thunder was sophomore pitcher Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg). Koeppl was one of two MIAA pitchers to finish the season undefeated while coming in at a tie atop the MIAA standings with seven wins. During conference play, she turned in a 1.79 ERA fifth among MIAA competition.
Two more position players earned second team honors for the Thunder including freshman Scarlett Elliott (Utica, Ohio / Utica) and sophomore Ellie Trine (Kokomo, Ind. / Kokomo).
Elliott held down the third base position for the Thunder finishing just behind Prather with 55 assists and coming in a tie with her during conference games with 25. During MIAA games she finished sixth in slugging percentage with a .681 and in a tie for third with 19 RBIs while also coming in with three homers in a tie for fourth. She also finished third on the team with a .364 batting average and fourth with a .609 slugging percentage over the course of the season.
Trine finished the season top-10 during MIAA games in both hits and doubles, as well as finishing 12th in on-base percentage. During the entirety of the season, Trine led the Thunder with 49 hits and with a .486 on-base percentage.
The final selection to the second team for the Thunder was freshman pitcher Adrienne Rosey (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft) who was nearly untouchable in her role as the primary reliever for the team. She led MIAA competition with three saves during MIAA games and with 10.33 strikeouts per seven innings pitched while also coming in fourth with a 1.72 ERA. Taking the season as a whole she led the Thunder with a .89 ERA, five saves and with 7.25 strikeouts per seven innings.
Trine softball finished the season 30-8 overall and 14-2 in MIAA competition.