ANGOLA, Ind. – The nationally-ranked Trine University softball team has announced their schedule for the 2023 season which features plenty of high-level competition. The team begins this season ranked second in the nation after a banner season that saw the Thunder win a conference championship and finish as national runners-up.
The Thunder boast a slate of 38 games including 12 at home, 12 on the road and 14 at neutral sites. They are currently slated to face five teams that were ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll and a sixth that was receiving votes.
Trine opens the year with their first nationally recognized opponent taking on Wartburg College on a neutral field in Florida. The game is the first of a stretch of eight games taking place in or around Winter Haven, Fla. as part of the first leg of the team's spring break trip. In addition to the Knights, the Thunder are also set to face Hiram College who received votes in the NFCA poll and Penn St.-Behrend who was a part of the regional competition hosted in Angola, Ind. last spring.
All three also represent rematches from a year ago, with Trine defeating Penn St.-Behrend in a single game and sweeping Hiram in a doubleheader. Wartburg came out just ahead of the team by the score of 7-6.
Also on the slate for the first portion of the schedule are Carnegie Mellon, Lebanon Valley, Aurora University, Nebraska Wesleyan and Otterbein.
For the final two days of spring break the Thunder make the short trip to the greater Norfolk, Va. area where they take on a group of tough competitors. On Friday, March 10 they begin the Cross Bay Bash by facing off with Berry University and Virginia Wesleyan University. Berry opens this season ranked fifth in the nation. Las year the Thunder ended the Vikings' season with a 5-0 loss in NCAA Division III Softball Championship Pool Play finals. The Marlins weren't on the Trine's schedule last season, but open the year seventh in the preseason poll.
The next day, Saturday, March 11, the Thunder start the day with Pfeiffer University a team that just missed out on the NCAA tournament last season after finishing 35-10 while playing in the USA South conference.
Finally, Trine ends their spring break with a rematch of the 2022 NCAA Championship series, taking on Christopher Newport University. The top-ranked team in the country and current defending national champion, got the better of the Thunder three times last season.
The team returns closer to home for another neutral site slate of games traveling to Elizabethtown, Ky. for four games beginning on Saturday, March 18. They will face nationally ranked Linfield University who opened the season 12th in the national poll. They finish off the weekend with games against Hanover College, Depauw University and Transylvania University. Last season saw Depauw get the best of the Thunder 3-1, while the Pioneers lost 5-4.
Trine hosts their home opener on Wednesday, March 22 by hosting Anderson (Ind.) University for a doubleheader. They then finish off the non-conference part of the season with a road trip to Ohio Northern University and another home stand against Muskingum University.
The team looks to defend their Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships over the course of their final sixteen games. They will host Adrian, Albion, Calvin and Saint Mary's while traveling to face Olivet, Alma, Hope and Kalamazoo.
After a tough start to 2022, Trine finished the season winning 20 of their final 22 games to post a 35-13 overall record. It was the 12th time the program has surpassed the 30-win mark since joining the NCAA in 2005. In addition to the team's first appearance in the championship and first national runner-up finish, the season marked their fourth super-regional championship, fifth regional championship and 11th MIAA Championship.