HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – In a preseason poll of the nine Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) coaches, the Trine University softball team has been tabbed to repeat as champions.
The Thunder received points totaling 63 points including seven first-place votes to take the top spot in the poll. The points are determined by votes cast by the association's coaches, who cannot vote for their own team. Calvin University, which finished last season in third, received the final two first-place votes, and Hope College, last year's runner-up, both finished second in the poll with 55 points.
Earlier this week, Trine was tabbed the second-best team in the country by the 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. The national ranking reflects the incredible finish to the 2022 season where the team finished as runners-up in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
The Thunder 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.
Leading the way for the team will be a host of All-MIAA honorees from last season. Senior Ellie Trine returns to the outfield after being named MIAA Position Player of the Year during 2022. She rolled through the regular season leading the conference in multiple offensive categories including hits (32), batting average (.571) and on-base percentage (.613) while tying for first in doubles (8). She also earned second team NFCA All-Region honors following the season.
She is joined by senior shortstop Amanda Prather, a first-team All-MIAA selection. Prather made splash play after splash play on defense, including a pair of diving catches on line drives during the MIAA title clinching sweep of Hope College. During MIAA play she made her mark offensively as well finishing first with 29 RBIs, a full nine more than the next highest MIAA player's total, and tying for first with eight doubles. She would also finish fourth in slugging percentage (.755), fifth in on-base percentage (.518) and sixth in batting average (.469).
In the circle a trio of All-MIAA student-athletes return. Junior Adrienne Rosey headlines the group earning MIAA Pitcher of the Year and first team NFCA All-Region honors last season. Rosey finished last season with a 1.04 earned run average while averaging 8.41 strikeouts per game. Her dominance continued in postseason as she earned Most Outstanding Player honers at the Angola, Ind. Regional, Most Outstanding Pitcher at the Angola, Ind. Super-Regional and was named to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship All-Tournament team.
All-MIAA second team selections senior Anna Koeppl and junior Lauren Clausen also return to pitch again. Last season the pair would split the second game of doubleheaders, combining to give fits to opponents. Koeppl would lead the MIAA with a low ERA of 0.62 while also finishing a perfect 4-0. Clausen would finish third with 8.61 strikeouts per seven innings pitch in the conference. The pair combined for a crucial 4-1 win over Hope to finish off the sweep and secure the MIAA regular season title.
Three new faces join the team via transfer from Eastern Connecticut State University. Headlining the group is junior pitcher Alexis Michon, who finished last season by being named the 2022 NCAA Division III National Pitcher-of-the-Year by Schutt Sports and the NFCA. Graduate student Cassie Woods also represents a splash addition coming Trine after earning NFCA All-American honors last season. Fellow graduate student Carolyn Biel joins the team after being a crucial member of the Warriors as they made it to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. All three are familiar faces from across the diamond for the Thunder, who split with ECSU last season, including a win during the final week of the NCAA Softball Championship.
Trine begins their season in Florida as a part of their spring break trip. They begin the week of competition by facing off with nationally-ranked Wartburg College on Saturday, March 4 at 9 a.m. They will open the MIAA portion of their season Saturday, April 8 with a doubleheader against Adrian College.
