ANGOLA, Ind. – A record breaking day for Debbie Hill led the way to a 21-4 run-rule victory over second-seeded Calvin University. The victory in the third game of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament, presented by Collegiate Credit Union, sends the Thunder to the championship game, placing them one win away from the tournament title and an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
Hill's first at-bat was a historic one. She drew a six-pitch walk that was the 147th of her career, setting the new NCAA Division III benchmark in the category. With the record broken she changed her focus trotting around all of the bases rather than just to first. She finished the game with three homers, moving to 61 in her career, on shy of the current program record of 62, held by Kaylee Fox '18. The single game total ties her for second most in the program record book.
Not to be outdone, the rest of the team also utilized the long ball to build the commanding final 21-4 score. All told the team had seven homeruns tying the program record for most in a single game.
Karley Trine brought in the first runs of the day in the top of the first with a two-run homer to left field. In the second, Whitney Duell had an RBI single before the bases loaded for Hill's first homer of the day.
Calvin responded in the bottom of the second with a pair of runs, before the Thunder offense went back to work in a big way. Trine scored ten runs in the third inning to build a 17-2 lead. Duell, Jo Trine, Hill, Clare Feehan and Keelin Wheaton each batted in run during the inning. Hill led the way with a three-run shot while Feehan had a two-run double and Duell finished with a bases loaded walk and an RBI double.
In the fourth the Thunder made a bit more history. The team started the inning with four consecutive homers with Tyra Marcum, Macy Rocha, Emma Lee and Hill each notching a solo shot. While consecutive homers is not a tracked record in NCAA Division II and III, the record among the Division I ranks is four. The score after the streak was 21-2.
Sydney Adolfson finished off the five inning game with the 21-4 victory after allowing two more in the bottom of the fifth before closing the door. She finished the game with her 11th win of the season while allowing just two earned runs on five hits and a walk.
The Thunder improve to 31-3 overall after the victory. They will need to wait for the results of the next two games of the tournament before learning their opponent for tomorrow's championships game. That game is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 8.
