Posted: Jun 29, 2023

2023 Softball Season Wrapup

June 29, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The 2023 Maranatha Softball Season had its fair share of challenges, but a relatively inexperienced group came together to form a tight-knit team, and Coach Rob Thompson kept the main thing the main thing from start to finish in a season that was greatly reduced in terms of actual games played.

The Wisconsin softball season is a blitz - just a few weeks of cancellations and tightly packed schedules, so the team has to come together and make the best of a challenging but rewarding spring season, which saw the original schedule of 36 games cut exactly in half mostly due to weather-related issues.

"As with baseball, our season was abbreviated this year with cancelations due to weather-related issues," Coach Thompson said. "We finished with an 0-18 record, but our season is not a failure, nor will it be if we continue to do the right things, and for the right reasons. All season long, and for as long as I have been the head coach, our focus and primary purpose each day is to honor the Lord, and if at the end of the day, we have done that by how we acted, reacted, and treated the officials, opponents, coaches, teammates, and spectators with respect, then that is a 'W'…regardless of the score.

"Learning the fundamentals of the game, developing and refining instincts and reactions to situations, learning rules that govern the game, and finally the language of the game…both verbal and non-verbal alike, all make for an exciting process," Thompson continued. "We have a very diverse team in personality, ability, and experience. During team devotions, we focused our daily challenges on I Corinthians 13, with 'LOVE' as our theme, having memorized most of the chapter together, and used each day to look at ways in which we demonstrate love to others, and how others show their love to us.

God has uniquely put this team together, and it has been interesting to see how such a group of young women could blend to be an example of God’s handiwork! I consider it a real privilege to coach these young women and look forward to seeing what God has in store for us as we turn the corner for 2024!"

The team was closely competitive in their season-opening and season-finishing doubleheaders, taking tight losses to North Central University and Mount Mary University, both of those doubleheaders were played on the road.

Senior Bethany Searle shouldered most of the pitching responsibility, appearing in 17 of the 18 games while making 12 starts. Searle proved her worth on both sides of the ball, leading the team with a .281 batting average. Dani Chaney, a three-year captain, stood out at the plate, leading the team with a .581 slugging percentage. Chaney played catcher for most of the season.

A detailed look at the season is represented with the links below:

SCHEDULE | ROSTER | STATS

AWARDS

Coach Thompson recognized the following student-athletes during Athletic Awards Assembly at the end of the season:

Most Valuable Teammate - Malia Bullock

Most Improved Teammate - Kaili Swaffer

Defensive MVP - Eryn Bates

Coaches' Award - Bethany Searle & Dani Chaney

NCCAA Scholar-Athletes:

Malia Bullock, Dani Chaney, Racquelle Kilian, Ashley Nerat, Bethany Searle

OUTLOOK

Malia Bullock, Dani Chaney, and Ashley Nerat all concluded their four-year careers after the 2023 season.