LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Despite securing their fifth straight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship, the Trine University softball team dropped one spot in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Coaches Poll, sitting in fifth for this week's edition of the rankings.
The major shakeup in the top of the rankings came with Salisbury University dropping to fourth after being swept by Christopher Newport University. The Captains, who are one of the Thunder's three losses this season, leapfrogged from seventh to third. Undefeated Linfield University took over the top spot with East Texas Baptist University moving into third. Calvin University remains the only other member of the MIAA to be ranked, moving up three spots to 21st.
Trine played just two games this week, sweeping visiting Albion College to secure the programs 13th MIAA championship. The Thunder won both games in run-rule fashion, the first 12-0 and the second 8-0, securing the outright regular season championship with a 14-2 record.
Debbie Hill earned MIAA Position Player of the Week honors following her offensive performance in the series. She finished the day with a .800 batting average, a .833 on-base percentage and a 2.800 slugging percentage. She recorded three home runs in the two games along with a double. For the second time this season she had a two-homer inning, this time bookending the third inning of the first game with solo shots.
The team is schedule to host Adrian College for the opening game of the 2024 MIAA Softball Tournament on Thursday, May 9. That game is scheduled for 11 a.m.