(SALEM, VA) - Another historic season for the Trine University softball team ended in heartbreak with the University of Redlands winning 7-6 in the final game of the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The Lady Thunder started off the game with a lead. Karley Trine got things going with a single before moving to second with another hit from Tyra Marcus. Both moved up on a passed ball before Debbie Hill walked the bases loaded. Emma Lee brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly before Macy Rocha hit her sixth home run of the season. The Bulldogs responded in the second manufacturing a pair of runs to cut the deficit in half. They did so again in the fourth with a single run to make the score 4-3. Trine mounted a response of their own in the fifth. Hill reached on a single with one out bringing Lee to the plate. The senior hit her 17th homer of the season to bring in two and build the lead to 6-3. Unfortunately, Redlands would keep their offense going to get the win. Rocha led the Lady Thunder with 3 RBI and Lee had 2 RBI. With the loss the Thunder finish the season 41-8. It is the fourth straight season they reached the 40-win mark and just the fifth ever. They have reached the championship series four of the past five seasons. The pair of home runs today bring the season total to 80, surpassing the previous program record by four.
Trine softball finishes year as National Runner-Up
By: Mike Stiles •
June 4, 2026 • Salem, VA.
