Trine Wins Division III National Championship

The Trine Thunder are the Division III national champions, winning the D3 World Series championship series on Wednesday.

Needing to win two games in one day to clinch the title, the Thunder did just that, picking up a 6-2 win to start the day before walking off a 1-0 victory in the season’s final game to clinch the title.

It’s the first national championship in program history and just the second NCAA national title for the Trine athletic department since 2004.

“I’m just so grateful that the kids buy into this,”  head coach Don Danklefsen said after the game. “We aren’t here without their sacrifice. I’m so glad to share this with this senior class and this team. It’s a dream come true… I’m just in awe of this group. Eight games in seven days in this heat. We were here till midnight multiple days. No one complained, no one said a word. We sat them down last night and said when we get back tomorrow night we’re going to be the ones celebrating. And they just trusted us. They’ve trusted us all year.”

With a record of 46-6 on the year, the Thunder also set a single-season program record for wins.