by Alan Babbitt

The Hope College softball team received two first-place votes and tied for second place in the 2022 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Flying Dutch finished with 53 points, the same as Alma College, which also claimed two first-place votes. Trine University topped the poll with 60 points and five first-place votes. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.

Led by head coach Mary Vande Hoef, Hope is coming off a 25-11 season in 2021 that saw the Flying Dutch earn a share of their sixth MIAA championship. Hope swept Trine on the final day of the regular season.

Hope returns three All-MIAA honorees: first-team pitcher Avery Slancik (Scotts, Michigan / Vicksburg HS), first-team first baseman Kaelin Callow (Plainfield, Illinois / Plainfield) and second-team second baseman Arinn King (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville).

Photo of Avery Slancik by Lynne Powe

The Flying Dutch are scheduled to open the season on Saturday, Feb. 26, with non-conference games against Carroll University (Wis.) and Greenville University (Ill.) in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hope's first MIAA doubleheader is Saturday, April 2, at Kalamazoo College.