LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has unanimously selected the Trine University softball team atop their preseason coaches poll.
The reigning national champions received all ten first-place votes in the poll, coming in directly ahead of Salisbury University, the team they beat in last year's finale. Rounding out the top-five were Berry College, Coe College and Rowan University.
All told, the Thunder defeated four of the top seven teams in the preseason poll on their way to the first national championship in program history. After dropping their first contest Marshall, Texas to Rowan University, Trine rattled off four-straight to get back to the championship series. During the stretch they defeated seventh-ranked Linfield University, sixth-ranked Moravian University and the aforementioned Coe.
The team lost again in the opening game of the final best of three series with Salisbury but swept the final day to come away with the championship. On that decisive day, Anna Koeppl started with five and a third innings of perfect pitching before being relieved by Alexis Michon who recorded a save in the 6-2 victory. Michon then pitched a two-hitter in the final game and Carolyn Biel came up with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to give the team a 1-0 victory.
The Thunder finished the 2023 season 46-6 overall, a new program best for wins in a season. Earlier in the season, they secured their 12th Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship, their fourth straight and became the first MIAA softball team to win a national championship.
Trine is set to open the 2024 slate when they travel to the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus Ga. During the three-day event, the Thunder are set to face four teams currently ranked by the NFCA. They open with Babson College and 16th ranked East Texas Baptist University on Friday, March 1.