Madonna Claims 2026 WHAC Softball Tournament Title
LIVONIA, Mich. - For the eighth time in program history and third time in the last four seasons, Madonna University has claimed the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) softball tournament title. The Crusaders ran the table through their opening round pod, then swept Indiana Tech on Friday to wrap-up the best-of-three championship series. The Crusaders, ranked #1 in the nation, now turn their attention to the upcoming NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
Indiana Tech, the number two seed and winners of their opening round pod, also punched their ticket to the NAIA National Championship Opening round. The Warriors earn the WHAC's second autobid as the tournament runner-up.
Both teams await their tournament destination which will be announced on the NAIA Softball Selection Show on May 6 at 6 p.m. est.
Game 1: Madonna def. Indiana Tech 4-2 | Box Score
Madonna scored twice in the first inning and never gave up the lead Friday, beating Indiana Tech 4-2 in a non-league softball game in Livonia, Mich. The decisive stretch came early and again in the middle innings, when Faith Cramton delivered two run-scoring doubles and the Madonna pitching staff kept Indiana Tech from putting together a sustained rally.
Madonna moved in front 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Brynn Anteau came around on Cramton's double down the left-field line, and Rylee Fitzpatrick followed later in the inning with an RBI single to score Cramton. Indiana Tech trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the third on Morgan Macek's RBI single, but Madonna answered immediately. In the bottom half, Cramton doubled home Anteau again to restore a two-run cushion at 3-1.
The insurance run arrived in the fifth. Ashley Rosiewicz tripled to right field, then scored when Anteau lined an RBI single, stretching the lead to 4-1. That extra run mattered in the seventh, when Indiana Tech made one last push. Melissa Cabrera doubled and later scored on an RBI groundout by Allie Dolenc, but Madonna limited the damage and closed out the two-run victory.
Cramton finished as Madonna's top offensive performer, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, one run scored and two RBIs. Rosiewicz added a triple and a run, while Anteau scored twice and drove in a run. Madonna finished with six hits and drew five walks, creating enough traffic to support its pitching staff.
Camille Oyer started and worked five innings for Madonna, allowing two hits and one run, which was earned, on 72 pitches. She struck out two before Anna Battagin handled the final two innings. Battagin allowed one earned run as Madonna completed the seven-inning effort with 100 total pitches and 69 strikes. Indiana Tech starter Mackenzie Arroyo went five innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs while throwing 103 pitches.
Indiana Tech finished with three hits, one error and three runners left on base. Madonna also committed one error and stranded five. The visitors cut into the lead twice, but each time Madonna had an answer, first with Cramton's second RBI double in the third and later with the fifth-inning sequence started by Rosiewicz's triple and finished by Anteau's single.
Game 2: Madonna def. Indiana Tech, 3-2 | Box Score
Madonna built its lead in one decisive second inning and made it stand Friday, edging Indiana Tech 3-2 in a WHAC softball game in Livonia, Mich. The home team scored all three of its runs in the second, then withstood Indiana Tech's push in the fourth to close out the win in 1 hour, 39 minutes.
The key stretch came when Faith Cramton opened the rally with a single and Carson Kuhlmann followed later with another hit. Chelsea Weatherford then delivered an RBI single, and Faith Peschke added the biggest blow of the afternoon, a two-run single that brought home two more runs after a throwing error and gave Madonna a 3-0 advantage. That sequence accounted for three of Madonna's five hits and supplied all the offense the team would need.
Indiana Tech answered in the fourth and nearly erased the deficit. Carlye Walter tripled to spark the inning, and Melissa Cabrera followed with a double that drove Walter home. Mae Griffore later singled in another run to trim the lead to 3-2, but Madonna kept Indiana Tech from finding the tying run over the final three innings.
Madonna's pitching staff went the distance, allowing six hits and two earned runs over seven innings while striking out two and walking one. The defense finished with 21 putouts and eight assists, working around one error. Indiana Tech left six runners on base, while Madonna was more efficient with its chances and stranded only three.
Cramton paced Madonna at the plate by going 2 for 3, while Peschke drove in two runs in just two at-bats and Weatherford added an RBI. Lucy Bennin also provided a late spark on the bases, entering as a pinch-runner and stealing second in the sixth, though the inning ended without another run. Indiana Tech's Morgan Macek collected two hits, and pitcher Savannah Bravo struck out five over six innings while allowing five hits and three runs, two of them earned.
Madonna finished with three runs, five hits and one error, while Indiana Tech totaled two runs, six hits and two errors. The difference remained that second-inning burst, which gave Madonna enough cushion to absorb Indiana Tech's fourth-inning rally and finish the afternoon with a one-run WHAC victory.
All-Time Softball Tournament Champions
2001: (1) Cornerstone
2002: (1) Concordia
2003: (2) Cornerstone
2004: (1) Cornerstone
2005: No Tournament
2006: No Tournament
2007: (2) Madonna
2008: (1) Madonna
2009: (1) Madonna
2010: (1) Madonna
2011: (1) Davenport
2012: (2) Madonna
2013: (2) Davenport
2014: (1) Davenport
2015: (2) Davenport
2016: (1) Davenport
2017: (1) Davenport
2018: (4) UNOH
2019: (3) Siena Heights
2020: No Tournament due to season canceled because of COVID-19
2021 (1) Aquinas
2022: (2) UM-Dearborn
2023: (4) Madonna
2024: (1) Madonna
2025: (3) UNOH
2026: (1) Madonna