The 2020 Kalamazoo College softball team is scheduled to begin its season on Saturday, March 7 at Franklin College in a doubleheader. The Hornets' schedule features a mix of 16 non-conference games in the month of March, with the bulk of the games occurring in Florida, before beginning MIAA competition at the end of the month. The Kalamazoo roster has nine returning members, including a pair of seniors, and three true freshmen.
Key Dates
- The Hornets will open their season with a doubleheader at Franklin College on March 7.
- The team hosts Bluffton for a doubleheader on March 14 for its home opener.
- Kalamazoo will play 12 games in a seven-day stretch during its trip to Florida on March 19-25.
- The Hornets travel to Alma on Saturday, March 28 for their MIAA opener.
- The MIAA Tournament is set to begin on Friday, May 1 and conclude on Saturday, May 2.
Returning Statistical Leaders
- The team returns two senior captains in Alyssa Heitkamp and Anna Majewski who each played in all 35 games a year ago.
- Majewski, Kalamazoo's starting catcher, has posted a career .281 batting average and finished second on the team in RBIs and runs scored in 2019.
- Sammi Luzadre and Keelin McManus both return after logging over 100 innings each on the mound last season.
- Junior captain and shortstop Nina Szalkiewicz comes back after a sophomore campaign in which she hit .282 with six doubles and 16 RBIs.
- Nikki Gorder returns to the lineup after a freshman season in which she hit .300 while scoring 17 runs.
Head Coach Kelli Duimstra
Coach Duimstra is set to begin her third season as the head coach of the Hornets. She joined the Hornet softball program with plenty of MIAA experience as she had served as the assistant coach at Hope College from 2014-17. Prior to her time coaching the Flying Dutch, Duimstra was an assistant coach at Hudsonville High School from 2010-14 and helped coach the team to two MHSAA State Championships. During her playing career at Hope, Duimstra was the MIAA's Most Valuable Player and was named first-team All-Region and first-team All-American following her senior year. Joining Duimstra's staff for the 2020 season are Ashley Ables and Jodi Hall-Curnutte.