ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine University completed the necessary sweep of Adrian College on the final day of the 2025 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Softball Tournament to capture their fourth straight tournament championship and secure an automatic berth in the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
After losing to the Bulldogs yesterday in Game 3 of the tournament, the Thunder needed three straight elimination game victories to secure the championship. They got the first against Hope College last night, securing the spot on the final day of the event.
The first game of the day started at noon with Trine serving as the visitors. The team threatened to score in the first after a pair of walks to start the game, but the Bulldogs staved off the effort to keep the game scoreless. That brought Alexis Michon to the stripe, making her third start of the tournament. She saved her best performance for last, taking a dominating perfect game into the fourth and a no-hitter into the fifth. She would ultimately finish the game allowing just one run while striking out 11 batters.
The Thunder offense got going in the top of the second inning. Kennedy Huckeby recorded the first run with an RBI-single. The team built on that lead in the third inning with four more runs. Macy Rocha came up with the first RBI on a single followed by an Emma Beyer single that did the same. Huckeby posted a second RBI on a groundout before Ainsley Phillips brought in the final run with a single to left center.
Tyra Marcum led off the fourth with a homer to left center. With two outs in the fifth, Whitney Duell came up with double which Emma Lee followed with a single that put Adrian in danger of being run-ruled with an 8-0 score. The Bulldogs scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth to force Michon to finish the seven-inning contest to earn her victory.
The 8-1 win forced the decisive Game 7, this time with the Thunder in their home dugout. Phillips gave the team a lead by finding the empty space between the top of the centerfield wall and the scoreboard for a two-run homer. This time Adrian responded quickly, loading the bases in the third and forcing a pitching change for the Thunder before scoring two runs of their own.
With her pitching day done Debbie Hill restarted the offense in the bottom of the third. She brought in a run with a single early in the inning before Beyer added three more with her third homer of the season. Marcum came up with another RBI hit in the fourth to make the score 7-2 heading into the fifth inning.
After her rocky start in the third inning, Lauren Clausen settled in to pitching in the contest. She ultimately held the Bulldogs scoreless though the final three innings of the game and didn't allow a hit. She walked two while striking out three along the way to her seventh win of the season.
Trine looked like they were going to finish the game in the fifth with Keelin Wheaton and Phillips each recording RBI hits that put the team up seven at 9-2. They finished the game in the sixth, with Huckeby turning in one more clutch hit through the right side of the infield, walking off the game with a 10-2 run-rule victory.
The Thunder, who improved to 36-5 with the pair of wins, are now guaranteed to make their 16th trip to an NCAA Regional contest. They will learn where they will compete on Monday, May 12 during the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship Selection Show. The show is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.
