April 2023
The IWU softball team recently dropped 16 spots to No. 22 in this week’s NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
The team held the No. 6 spot in the poll for the last two weeks after a program-record ranking of No. 2 in the poll before that.
“To be recognized for all the hard work was really neat,” Wildcats’ head softball coach Steve Babinski said. “I’m excited for our team, and they know that that potential is there.”
The Wildcats are in the middle of conference play, posting a 5-5 record in their last ten games. They currently sit with a record of 19-9 overall.
“We honestly have not started conference play as strong as we hoped,” freshman Courtney Thomas said.
The Wildcats ended a five-game losing streak at Huntington University on Tuesday, where they won both games of their doubleheader. Senior Elisa Koshy has stepped into a leadership role this year and sees light at the end of the tunnel for this team.
“I think we are on the uphill from here,” Koshy said. “The last couple games were a little tough. Coming off a five-game losing streak was hard and not something that we’ve done the last four years I’ve been here, but I think we’re also a young team trying to figure things out.”
A spring break trip to Tucson, Arizona, helped the team grow closer together.
“It was exactly what we were hoping for, to do spring training for softball but also come back more unified and more bonded,” Coach Babinski said.
The Wildcats played in the Tucson Invitational Games, where they compiled a 6-2 record over the course of five days.
“(Being able to play in Arizona), the factor of weather you didn’t have to consider, so we were just able to play, get a little tan, have some fun, and build connections that we hadn’t really built yet this year,” Thomas said.
The trip went beyond playing games and traveling together, though.
“We had two people get baptized,” Koshy said. “Anyone that’s getting baptized, it’s an amazing experience to watch, so that was a really cool thing that we got to experience in Arizona.”
The team looks to take what they have learned from their various experiences so far this season and finish strong as they round out the conference schedule.
“Last year’s team achieved a lot, but we don’t have to be exactly how they were last year,” Thomas said. “We can be our own team. We can have our own achievements.”
As successful as the Wildcats have been, there’s more to this team than just winning games.
“The number one thing we’re hoping (is that) God will choose us to increase our platform, so when people look at Indiana Wesleyan softball, they’ll see something different,” Coach Babinski said. “They’ll look in and see Jesus Christ.”
The Wildcats’ next pair of games will be on Thursday, April 6, at Grace College. Then they return home to face Bethel University on Monday, April 10, before a long stretch of away games throughout the rest of April.