LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After winning the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament and earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Trine University softball team moved up one spot to fourth in the national rankings put out by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
The Thunder are one of 13 regional hosts listed in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The team earned the right to play at home in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament thanks to a 39-3 overall record. Trine was without a loss in the MIAA Tournament after defeating Adrian College 1-0 in the first game of the event, then thumped Calvin University 17-1 in the Second Round. The Thunder utilized a go-ahead homerun off the bat of Tyra Marcum to claim a 4-3 win in the Championship Round.
The performances of Marcum and Lauren Clausen earned them MIAA Position Player and Pitcher of the Week. Marcum finished the three games with a 1.222 slugging percentage, which led the team, and was second on the team with a .444 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage. She tied for first on the team with two home runs and five RBIs during the three games. In the battle between undefeated teams, Clausen went five innings against the Calvin Knights. Trine avenged the regular season sweep with a convincing 17-1 victory. Clausen finished the game allowing just the one run on two hits while striking out six Knights.
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is ranked 23rd in the most recent poll results and will make the trip to Angola to compete as the two seed in the region. The Pointers were second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) standings in 2024 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The University of Mount Union was listed in last week's rankings but dropped out of the poll after coming up short in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament. The Purple Raiders received an at-large bid as well. Also making the trip to the Hoosier State will be Westminster College of Pennsylvania, who won the Presidents' Athletic Conference's (PAC) automatic bid.
The Thunder enter the NCAA Tournament as the national leader in slugging percentage (.599), WHIP (0.73) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.03). Debbie Hill's 13 homeruns on the year leads the team and Marcum joins her in double figures with 10. Hill eclipsed over 100 total bases last weekend in 2024. In the circle, Alexis Michon currently leads all pitchers with a 0.60 WHIP and has struck out 10.4 batters per seven innings.
