LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Trine University softball team opens the season as the 16th best team in the country according to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Preseason Poll released today, Tuesday, February 8.
The Thunder finished last season ranked 21st in the poll and were ranked by the organization for the final three iterations.
Regional adversary DePauw University will open the season as the top-ranked team receiving all ten first-place votes in the preseason poll. Last season's national champion squad from Virginia Wesleyan opens the season in second, after losing ten members of their championship team.
Last season saw Trine capture their tenth Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Regular Season Championship by finishing the season in a tie atop the standings with Hope College. They also completed the eleventh 30-win season in the program's NCAA history by finishing with 30-8 overall record.
The Thunder also collected a swath of individual awards in recognition of their play with all six honorees returning for this year's campaign. Highlighting the group was now fifth year senior Mercede Daugherty (Watervliet, Mich. / Watervliet) who was named NFCA All-Region second team and the MIAA Most Valuable Player.
Six other members of the team earned first or second team honors from the MIAA including junior Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) and Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) and senior Ashley Swartout (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) on the first team and junior Ellie Trine (Kokomo, Ind. / Kokomo) and sophomore Scarlett Elliott (Utica, Ohio / Utica) on the second team.
A final highlight of the season came when the team defeated Saint Mary's College by the score of 14-4 to complete a sweep, the win was a historic one going down as the 500th victory of head coach Don Danklefsen's career.
The full preseason poll can be found on the NFCA's website.