The Hope College softball team looks to challenge for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship during the 2015 season with a veteran group that includes 14 returning letterwinners.
Coach Mary Vande Hoef and the Flying Dutch start the 2015 season with 12 games from March 13-20 with their annual spring break trip to Florida.
Hope's MIAA opener is March 26 at Alma. The Flying Dutch's home opener is March 31 against MIAA champion Trine.
Photo of Jenna Maury
VandeHoef is entering her fifth season as head coach. She has a roster of 23 players that is comprised of eight seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and nine freshmen.
Co-captains this season are senior infielder Kelsey Cooper of Romeo, Michigan (Romeo HS), senior pitcher/infielder Natalie Hiser of Westland, Michigan (Livonia Churchill HS), senior outfielder Becca Phillips of Wayland, Michigan (Wayland HS), and senior infielder Peyton Wells of Rockford, Michigan (Rockford HS).
Other returners for Hope are senior infielder Natalie Leahy of Wheaton, Illinois (Wheaton North HS), senior catcher Adalee Robertson of Flushing, Michigan (Flushing HS), senior infielder Julie Sobieski of St. Charles, Illinois (St. Charles East HS), senior pitcher Olivia Vacik of Bollingbrook, Illinois (Neuqua Valley HS), junior outfielder Autumn Anderson of Dorr, Michigan (Wayland HS), junior infielder Vanessa Brockhouse of Fort Wayne, Indiana (Northrup HS), junior pitcher/outfielder Kate Laverty of Eaton Rapids, Michigan (Eaton Rapids HS), junior infielder Jenna Maury of Lawton, Michigan (Lawton HS), sophomore outfielder Sammi Adams of Griffith, Indiana (Griffith HS), and sophomore pitcher Maddie Bellew of Jackson, Michigan (Jackson HS).
Anderson was selected National Fastpitch Coaches Association Second Team All-Region in the Central Region as a sophomore. She recorded a team-high .419 batting average while leading Hope with 136 at-bats, 57 hits and 40 runs scored.
Anderson repeated as an All-MIAA First Team honoree. She was joined on the first team by two teammates: Sobieski and Wells. Cooper was a second-team selection. Wells totaled a team-high five home runs, while Sobieski tied for second with four.
The Flying Dutch finished the 2014 season with a 23-16 record. Hope was runner-up in the MIAA regular-season standings and the league tournament.
