LIVONIA, Mich.-- The Madonna University softball team has high expectations entering the 2021 season and for good reason. The team returns a core that has won three consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular-season championships and have been one win away from a trip to the program's first NAIA World Series twice in the past three seasons. 

"We are really happy with the team we have this year," said Head Coach Jerry Abraham. "We are incredibly strong up the middle and our depth around the diamond is incredible. This may be the deepest lineup we've ever had, and we've had some pretty good ones."

RETURNEES

The Crusaders success starts with the senior duo of Madisen Henry and Brooklyn Dolloff as well as fourth-year junior Kattie Popko. The trio was off to an incredible start in 2020 with Popko and Dolloff leading the offense while Henry was dominating in the circle. 

Popko is entering her fourth season with the Blue and Gold and is a career .415 hitter with 86 RBI, 36 doubles, eight triples and six home runs. She also has 139 base hits and just 26 strikeouts in 335 at-bats. Dolloff is a .358 hitter in her first 71 games, 176 at-bats, with the Crusaders and was hitting .421 before the season was cancelled last March. She has 92 putouts in centerfield and has driven in 25 runs. Henry has a career 2.12 ERA in 396 innings pitched, but had a .68 mark in 51.1 innings last season while going 6-0 in nine games before the shutdown. The dominant righty has amassed 356 strikeouts over four years and is 38-18 with nine shutouts and 42 complete games in her 62 starts. 

Other key returnees are Sarah Holton (.354 average in 21 games last season), Veronica Pezzoni (.357 avg. in 16 games), Amy Cleg (.341 avg., 17 games) and catchers Makayla Bassage, Brooke Garbarino, and Robin Sprys. In the circle Madonna also brings back Alyssa Fessenden (1.20 ERA, 23.1 IP last season), Ciera Jones (2.44 ERA, 37.1 IP) as well as Taylor Hulett, Maeson Schlaud, Elisabet McCann and Jenna Gould. 

The Blue and Gold will also be looking for players to step into larger roles in 2021 including Emily Pawelski and Brooklyn Prescott who lead the race to hold down first base for the Crusaders. There are several position battles that will play out over the first few games of the season as the Blue and Gold look to maximize their roster.

In all Madonna has 17 juniors, many of whom would be seniors in 2021, but were awarded an extra year of athletic eligibility due to the shutdown last season. 

SEASON SCHEDULE

With no summer ball, little fall practice and an abbreviated spring, coach Abraham knows that the success of his team will depend on how well the offense can transition from the cage to live pitching. He and the rest of Crusader Nation will get the first look at the 2021 team in action this weekend as they play three varsity and one reserve contest at the Legacy Center tournament hosted by Concordia University - Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 29. Due to COVID-19 protocols, no fans will be allowed to attend indoor contests, but live stats and video will be available at mucrusaders.com. 

The team then takes a month off before facing Cleary University (Mar. 2) at the Legacy Center and attending another Legacy Tournament on March 5. The home slate begins March 13-14 as Judson University visits University Field for a four-game series. The following weekend Miami University - Hamilton comes to town before a mid-week meeting with Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) on March 25. 

League play begins with trips to Siena Heights University (Mar. 27), Lourdes University (Mar. 28) and Cornerstone University (Apr. 3) before hosting Concordia University on Apr. 7. The season wraps up on Sunday, Apr. 25 at Rochester University with the WHAC tournament taking place at Pacesetter Park in Sylvania, Ohio May 5-7. 



WHAC PREVIEW

The head coaches of the 12 WHAC teams voted earlier this month on the preseason coaches poll and the Crusaders were selected to win their fourth straight conference title with 141 points and nine first-place votes. Aquinas was picked second with 120 points and two first-place tallies while University of Northwestern Ohio was picked third with 11 points and the last first-place vote. 

Madonna was the only team mentioned in the 2021 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll with 79 votes. The Crusaders are the first time outside the Top-25. Even with all the high praise thrust upon his team before the season, coach Abraham knows this is going to be a challenging season. 

"Our conference is strong top-to-bottom this season," said Abraham. "There isn't going to be a single weekend you can relax. We've tried to add as many tough preseason opponents as we can to prepare us for what will be one of the hardest conference slates we've had."

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