SALEM, Va. – The Trine University softball team guaranteed a top four finish in the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship after defeating three-seeded Simpson College. The Thunder run-ruled the Storm with a 9-1 walk off victory in the fifth inning.
It was another quick start for the Thunder with Karley Trine reaching on an error and Tyra Marcum singling to right center field. That led to Macy Rocha coming to the plate with two outs on the board. She crushed a line drive over the center field fence, her fifth home run of the season, for the 3-0 lead.
They doubled that score in the second. Jo Trine came to the plate with runners on first and second. Her sharp hit ball through the left side was ruled an error that brought in one run. A second error by the outfielder allowed the second run to score and Jo Trine reached third. The senior scampered home on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, making the score 6-0 for the start of the third.
After the Storm notched their first run of the game, the fourth inning saw Jo Trine reach on an error for the third time in the game, moving all the way to second on the dropped fly ball. Marcum followed up with a single up the middle that brought her home and made the score 7-1.
The Thunder put a pair of runners on to start the fifth inning, with Maddie Cortez avoiding a tag at second to save an out. Abbie Geib moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. After another out on a flyball, Kennedy Huckeby came to the plate. The senior singled to right field to walk off the game.
"Coach came up to me and told me this is what you do," said Huckeby about the leadup to her final at-bat, "I felt really confident that I could at least keep the runners moving and the inning going."
"We call it the Kiki special," said head coach Donnie Danklefsen, "It's a groundball through a gap. She doesn't try to do too much; she just waits for her pitch and goes with it."
In the circle, Kami Arnett made the start and ended up with the win after four innings of work. She allowed just the one run on three hits while striking out three. Alex Rodriguez finished out the contest. She had a strikeout and allowed no hits in her one inning of work.
The Thunder finished the game with nine runs on eight hits, committing no defensive errors. The Storm faced difficulties on defense, committing four errors. They scored their one run on three hits.
"As a team, we talked during regionals and super regionals that experience comes into play and I think today that was a big factor," continued Danklefsen, "Simpson is a great team, that made some uncharacteristic mistakes today and we capitalized on them. They were such a solid team yesterday, I just think the situation might have got to them a bit today. Our experience and success the past few seasons really came through today. When we play like we did today we are as dangerous as they come."
Trine finishes the day 40-6, marking the fourth-straight season the team has reached the 40-win mark. It is only the fifth time since joining the NCAA that the team has accomplished the feat.
They will now enjoy a day of rest while four of the six remaining teams in the field battle for two spots. The Thunder will face the winner tomorrow's contest between Rowan University and Belhaven College on Sunday, May 30. That game is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. A second game could follow if Trine drops that game with the time to be determined. The Thunder can only be eliminated with two losses on Sunday.
