Rounding Third Softball

Northwest University in Washington has announced they will discontinue their softball program. University officials stated the move was, “The right decision for the short and long-term future of Eagle Athletics and Northwest University.” The university said scholarship commitments to softball student-athletes would be honored for those who opt to continue at the institute. Veteran Coach Pam Fink retired after the Eagles last game on April 29. Fink coached for 30 years leading NAIA Northwest since 2018. She is the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Ciria Triplett is retiring as head coach at Newberry College to spend more time with her family. The winningest coach in Wolves history, Triplett compiled a record of 290-211 in 11 seasons leading the DII program.

The revolving door of coaches continues at Upper Iowa University. Head Coach Laura North has resigned after one season at the DII school to accept the head coaching position at NAIA William Penn University. In her lone season leading the Peacocks she had a 17-26 record. Sources have confirmed to RTS that assistant coach Erin Kuba has been offered the head coaching postion and is considering it. She would become the fourth head coach since 2021.

Wendy Thees will not return for the 2024 season as head coach at Winthrop. Thees spent five seasons leading the Eagles. She compiled a winning record in Rock Hill going 123-121 overall and 43-40 in Big South play.

The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) has announced their field for the 2023 World Series to be held in Kansas City, MO May 16-18. Eight selections including regional champions and at-large bids are included in the event. The complete field can be found at https://thenccaa.org/…/2023-softball-world-series-field…

NAIA has announced the postseason selections for their National Championship Opening Round. 40 teams were seeded at 10 sites around the country in four-team, double-elimination brackets to be played May 15-17. The winners of each site will advance to the NAIA World Series in Columbus, GA May 25-31. The complete selections and pairings can be found at https://www.naia.org/…/2022-23/releases/2023_OR_Schedule

Kent State and Head Coach Eric Oakley have parted ways. Oakley coached the Golden Flashes for eight seasons and 201 victories. He won MAC Championships early in his tenure in 2016 and 2017.

Boo De Oliveira is out as head coach at Purdue. De Oliveira coached the Boilermakers since 2017. During that time she compiled a record of 150-202, falling short of qualifying for the NCAA Postseason each year.

Rounding Third Softball Postseason Coverage powered by Decker Sports starts tomorrow as we will be onsite at the Southern Conference Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Three games on tap Wednesday at Jim Frost Stadium starting at 10 am ET with No. 4 seed Western Carolina and No. 5 seed Mercer. No. 2 seed Samford and No. 7 seed East Tennessee State will follow at 12:30 pm ET. The final game of the day at 3 pm ET will feature No. 3 seed Furman and No. 6 seed Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Check-in on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB and on all RTS Social Media platforms for live in-game action and updates from first pitch to last of the SoCon Championship.

Sources have confirmed to RTS that Marc Gillis will not return as head coach at the University of Detroit Mercy. Gillis just completed his fourth season at the helm of the Titans after being promoted from within the coaching staff in the summer of 2019. He compiled a record of 14-93 overall.