Here in northeast Indiana, close to where the Hoosier State, Michigan and Ohio meet, the freshman has become the ace pitcher for a Thunder squad that’s currently ranked sixth in the country.
“I wasn’t expecting to come in with all the stats,” she admitted. “I just approach every game the same and keep going.”
Trine is looking to make its 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance this spring, so it’s a program that’s accustomed to playing at a high level.
Thunder coach Donnie Danklefsen is using two freshmen, including Hannah Kampmann, and sophomore Kate Saupe in the circle. Some might say that’s a rebuilding move. But Danklefsen was hoping that talent would trump age, and he’s been proven correct.
With Ray, the veteran coach likes what he’s seen in terms of stuff and composure.
“Most freshmen aren’t quite as composed on the mound as she is, and it started from her first outing going 10 innings,” Danklefsen said. “We threw her into the fire pretty quick, a freshman playing some pretty good teams, and the funny thing is she didn’t even know who’s good.”
He pointed to a March 16 game in Kissimmee, Fla., against Messiah, then the No. 6 team in the nation. Ray tossed a two-hitter and won 3-1.
“In the fourth inning, she goes, ‘That’s not Marietta,’ ” Danklefsen said. “She didn’t even know who we were playing, even though we had a pretty good scouting report before the game. She either has really good composure or she just doesn’t pay attention really well. We can’t figure out which one it was.”
He smiles as he tells the story. Danklefsen likes to tease the freshman, but she’s not alone. He said the atmosphere within the program is simultaneously serious and good-natured, and the players don’t hesitate to needle the coaches either.
“D-Ray is not a big fan of being scared,” Danklefsen said. “If you walk up behind her, you can scare her easily. She will fall to the ground like a fish out of water. She’ll pretty much just scream and be done, and she’s mad for a while after you do it. And she likes to fall up the stairs. Down the stairs, she can do. But she doesn’t walk up stairs very well.
“This program makes fun of everybody. If you didn’t know us, you’d say we don’t like each other. But it’s a big family, and everything’s kind of free game. There’s some jokes we probably shouldn’t say out loud, but some people do, and we just laugh it off. Tough skin and go on.”
The serious part for Ray, of course, is right in the middle of the diamond. The right-hander has made 15 appearances for Trine (24-2) and is 11-0 with four saves, a 1.21 earned run average and 90 strikeouts in 87 innings.
Heading into Saturday’s home doubleheader with Albion (Mich.), Ray hasn’t allowed a run in her last 30.2 innings. She hasn’t walked a batter in her last 36.1 innings.
Trine pitching coach Dennis Smith said Ray is the slowest of the Thunder’s three hurlers, topping out around 58 miles per hour. So why are her numbers superior to Kampmann (10-1, 1.70 ERA, 25 strikeouts in 57.2 innings) and Saupe (3-1, 4.53 ERA, 13 strikeouts in 29.1 innings)?
“D-Ray has a lot more movement,” said Smith, noting that she’s throwing three different kinds of curveballs. “The ball hops as it gets to the plate. The other two are more or less power pitchers, so they don’t have quite the hop yet. If you watch all the big schools, movement is what gets everyone.”
Ray knew Trine was a D-III power, so coming in and making an impact right away wasn’t a given.
“I came here knowing there’s a lot of pitchers, so I wasn’t expecting to play a lot,” Ray said. “Then we got here and they said, ‘You’ve got to step up to the plate and just do what you do.’ I don’t usually know who we’re playing, but that’s all right.
“I would say I’ve gotten better because me and Coach Smith work on a lot of strategy and ideas and the way and why you throw something. It’s not just calling a pitch and throwing it. There’s a reason behind it.”
None of this is a surprise to Badin coach Greg Stitzel. Ray was a standout for the Rams while dealing with some physical setbacks, including a stress fracture in her back as a junior and an emergency appendectomy as a senior.
“I knew she would dominate,” Stitzel said. “When she first came on the scene here as a Junior Ram, I think in the seventh grade, I remember telling her that if I was in Kentucky or if I was allowed to, she’d be starting for me now. She showed shades of brilliance then. She’s always been pretty level-headed, and she worked hard to get to where she’s at right now. I applaud her for that.”
Ray’s mother, Mary Enderle, is a Badin assistant coach. Enderle said Danielle picked up the sport at a very young age because her sister, Jenny Phillips, was a player.
Phillips (now Gibson) graduated from Fenwick in 2004 and went on to play college ball at Rio Grande.
“Danielle didn’t really start until her sister got to college, but we were doing soft toss with her and tee work when she was like 2 or 3 years old,” Enderle said. “Softball is what we did. Her sister played and practiced, so Danielle was always there. She was just part of the program.”
Enderle played slow pitch back in the day and remained in action for about the first five months of her pregnancy with Danielle. The day before Jenny was born, Enderle played first base.
“I was 15 days overdue,” Enderle said. “They wouldn’t let me hit because I couldn’t run, but the day before they induced labor, I was on the field. That’s a true story. I was a little less crazy with Danielle than I was with her older sister.”
Enderle doesn’t get to see her daughter play a lot in the spring, but said her cellphone keeps her in constant touch with how Danielle is doing.
Mom always figured her daughter would do well at the next level.
“When you have four college coaches following you around at tournaments every time you’re on the mound, you know it’s something,” Enderle said. “It was like some kind of magnet to see her.
“Through the years, did I think she could get to this, the accolades that she’s gotten? I knew she could do whatever she puts her mind to.”
Ray started as a catcher because that’s what her sister played. But she soon became a pitcher and was taking pitching lessons before the age of 10. Chris Miner’s instruction was an important part of her development through the years.
At Badin, Ray was a key figure in back-to-back district championships. She lives in Liberty Township and could’ve gone to Fenwick after attending Mother Teresa Elementary School, but decided BHS was a better fit for her.
The physical problems Ray experienced while playing for the Rams had an effect on recruiting. They contributed to her choosing Trine.
Danklefsen recalls receiving an email from Ray several years ago, and Trine took an immediate interest in her. When her back problems arose, some schools stopped watching. But not Trine.
“Coach Smith and I had a conversation and said we’re not going to change a thing because we knew how good she could be when gets healthy,” Danklefsen said. “Coach Smith chased her around most summers, as I did. A few summers ago, she asked, ‘What if I get there and I’m still injured and I can’t play? Can I just be a part of the program?’ I said, ‘That’s not going to happen. You’re going to be healthy and really help us.’ You could see the mentality of her just wanting to be a part of something special and being a team player.”
Ray verbally committed to Trine early in her senior year. She was grateful that the Thunder staff stuck with her.
“They never gave up when I got injured,” Ray said. “I thought that was good because I looked at a lot of other schools like Urbana and UIndy, and they stopped contacting me right away.”
Her back is healthy these days, though it’s not very flexible. Because of that, she has some modified drills and exercises that don’t put a lot of pressure on that part of her body.
Smith loves the fact that Ray is coachable. He told her a couple years ago that she was stepping across her body on her curveball and twisting her back too much. Smith watched her at a summer tournament last year and noticed she had adjusted her delivery.
“I said, ‘It looks like you’re working on your power line.’ She said, ‘I remember somebody talked to me about that one time,’ ” Smith said. “Most kids would just say OK and just kind of revert back to what they’re doing. I was impressed that she listened and made the effort. Her maturity has made a huge difference this year.”
Ray played a lot of first base at Badin and hit .506 last spring. But don’t be looking for her to grab a bat at Trine.
“She actually this fall made it clear she didn’t really care if she ever swung again,” Danklefsen said. “And we need her to be focused on one thing. We don’t need her running. We don’t need her sliding into bags. We need her to dominate one area.”
The Thunder’s future is bright with a 16-player roster that includes 10 freshmen and sophomores. Another NCAA bid seems to be imminent.
Danklefsen said talent alone hasn’t put his team in this lofty position.
“A lot of kids have been praised for ability and not for work ethic,” he said. “When you get here, you’ve got to combine ability with work ethic to get what you want. It’s how quick they can realize that and adjust and learn and grow. We’re really excited with how fast they progressed. We pushed them pretty hard in January and February. We knew we had something pretty special.”
Ray is studying to be a physical therapist and said she’s doing pretty well in the classroom. Time management is the key to everything. She writes everything down to keep her schedule straight.
The hardest part of this experience? “Living here,” Ray said. “Because you’re on your own and you have to do everything by yourself. It’s not easy.”
Her advice for anyone considering Division III athletics is simple: Pick your school based on academics first. And be ready to work just as hard and put in just as much time as a D-I athlete.
The dream was always to play college softball like her sister did. That goal has been accomplished.
“It’s not really a job because I like doing it,” Ray said. “I appreciate it a lot more than I did in high school as a sport. When I was coming back from my back injury, I hated the sport and wanted to quit. But my first game back I did really well, and that kind of made me like it again. Once I got here, I started to fall in love with the game again.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
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