Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference will celebrate its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. Our next featured team is the 2013 Missouri-St. Louis softball squad.
40 TEAMS | 40 YEARS
WEEK 31: 2013 Missouri-St. Louis Softball
SEASON SUMMARY
The 2013 Missouri-St. Louis softball program finished 41-13 on the season, including a 26-4 mark in GLVC action. The 41 wins were then the second-most in program history, and included victories over No. 1 Indianapolis and No. 2 UC-San Diego. The impressive record put forth by the Tritons was even more eye-opening by the youth displayed on the team. UMSL’s roster featured just one senior (Haleigh Jenkins) and was also comprised of six freshmen, six sophomores and three juniors. The Tritons started three freshmen, five sophomores, one junior and one senior. Remarkably, four of the Tritons’ 13 losses came in the opening weekend at the competitive NFCA Leadoff Classic, although one of its two wins was against second-ranked UC-San Diego. And then after UMSL’s opening weekend of league play against Lewis and UW-Parkside was cancelled, the Tritons dropped their first actual GLVC game to Kentucky Wesleyan in mid-March. UMSL would then score victories in their next 13 league contests. After entering the GLVC Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed, the Tritons scored fourth-straight wins, including a 4-2 win over Quincy, an 11-2 six-inning decision over William Jewell, and a 1-0 shutout over top-ranked UIndy. Hannah Perryman out-dueled Jennifer DeMotte in the pitcher’s circle in a game that featured a combined 19 strikeouts and just six hits. One of UMSL’s two hits was a solo home run by Jenkins in the first inning, which would be the lone run of the game. The win set up a championship game against Lewis, which ended in dramatic fashion for the Tritons. Sophomore Katie Wood delivered a two-out walk-off home run in the eighth inning to give UMSL the title. Sophomore Madison Zbarashuk batted .583 in the tournament, recording seven hits and five RBIs, while Jenkins led the Tritons with three homeruns and seven RBIs and batted .462. Sophomore Brittni Chapman and Perryman each went 2-0 in the circle and combined for a 1.50 ERA, holding opponents to a .152 batting average. With the tourney win, Tritons were granted the program’s third-ever NCAA Tournament bid. In the NCAA Midwest Regional, the Tritons traveled to Allendale, Michigan and opened with a 2-1 victory over Southern Indiana. UMSL then fell 4-0 to top-seed and host Grand Valley State, but rebounded with a 4-2 win over USI. That set up a rematch against ninth-ranked GVSU, which ended the Tritons’ season with a 2-1 result. Perryman was named the GLVC Pitcher of the Year and led NCAA DII with a school single record 352 strikeouts. The NFCA and Daktronics third-team All-American also led the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.2) and finished with a 24-6 record and a 1.55 ERA, tossing 21 complete games and 10 shutouts. At the plate, Zbaraschuk set UMSL single-season records for RBI (54) and home runs (12).
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Hannah Perryman
- NFCA All-America First Team (2015-16)
- NFCA All-America Second Team (2014)
- NFCA All-America Third Team (2013)
- D2CCA All-America First Team (2016)
- Daktronics All-America Second Team (2015)
- Daktronics All-America Third Team (2013)
- Daktronics Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year (2015)
- NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team (2013-14-15-16)
- D2CCA All-Midwest Region First Team (2016)
- Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team (2013-15)
- Daktronics All-Midwest Region Second Team (2014)
- GLVC Pitcher of the Year (2013-2014(co)-2015)
- Four-time All-GLVC First Team (2013-14-15-16)
- NCAA Division II Record Holder for perfect games (9), career strikeouts (1,725) and strikeouts per seven innings (12.1)
- Ranks third in NCAA DII in career no-hitters (15) and seventh in career shutouts (61)
- Became the first NCAA DII player selected in the National Pro Fastpitch draft (37th pick to the Akron Racers)
Brianna Butler
- Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention (2014)
- NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team (2012-14)
- Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team (2012-14)
- Three-Time All-GLVC First Team (2012-13-15)
- All-GLVC Second Team (2014)
Katie Wood
- All-GLVC First Team (2013)
- All-GLVC Second Team (2014)
- All-GLVC Third Team (2015)
Brittni Chapman
- All-GLVC First Team (2013-14)
- All-GLVC Third Team (2015)
Haleigh Jenkins
- All-GLVC First Team (2013)
Madison Zbaraschuk
- All-GLVC First Team (2012)
- All-GLVC Second Team (2013-14-15)
Brian Levin
- Finished six-year career at UMSL as the program’s all-time wins leader, 248-83 (.750)
- Two-time GLVC Coach of the Year (2011, 2015)
- Led Tritons to four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
- Guided UMSL to two NCAA Super Regional appearances (2014, 2015)
- Captured three straight GLVC Championship Tournament titles (2013, 2014, 2015)
- Mentored players to eight All-America honors, 21 All-Region nods and 37 All-GLVC accolades
- Directed UMSL to four straight 40-win seasons, including a program-best 53 victories in 2016
LASTING LEGACY
The 2013 Missouri-St. Louis softball team earned the program’s first GLVC Championship Tournament title, which was also the first of three straight. It was the second GLVC championship for UMSL in any sport with the 2003 baseball team winning the GLVC crown. The Tritons would go on to claim the 2014, 2015, and 2017 league titles, which put their four crowns in a tie with Kentucky Wesleyan and Southern Indiana for third-most in Conference history. Head coach Brian Levin used his 2013 ballclub to set the foundation for four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, which also led to NCAA Super Regional appearances in 2014 and 2015. During his six-year stint at the helm of UMSL, Levin directed the Tritons to four straight 40-win seasons, including a program-best 53 victories in 2016. After falling in the GLVC Championship final in 2016, the Tritons have continued to be an annual contender for the league title. They rebounded to win the 2017 crown and then fell to eventual NCAA Champion Southern Indiana in the 2018 GLVC final. Individually, Hannah Perryman would continue her impressive career in the circle and conclude her time at UMSL as the NCAA DII career strikeout leader (1,725), perfect games (nine), and strikeouts per seven innings (12.1).