Danielle (Pease) Baszler is being inducted as Alma College's only three-time First Team All-American softball player. The outfielder was a part of the Scots' softball program from 1998-2001 and graduated from the college in 2001.
Baszler is a four-time selection to the NCAA all-regional First Team and was named to the All-MIAA First Team three times, while earning Second Team All-MIAA recognition once. She played in a school-record 186 games and scored a program-best 186 runs, including a record 62 in 1999, while tallying 248 hits, the most in Alma softball history. Baszler also notched 29 triples in her career, which still stands as the school record, and owns the top three single-season triple marks in the program's history.
Baszler finished her career with a batting average of .403, third-best in school history, and totaled and 96 stolen bases, which also ranks third. In addition, she posted 83 RBIs, which is among the top 10 career totals for Alma softball.
In her freshmen season, Baszler was named the team's Rookie of the Year and took home Batting Champion honors after hitting .427 with a school-record nine triples. She was named Batting Champion again as a sophomore with a .449 average and tallied 34 stolen bases, third best in a season. As a senior, after hitting .409 with 24 RBIs, she was named the team's Most Valuable Player and received Batting Champion honors for the third time in her career. She was also the State of Michigan's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Among her favorite memories, Baszler talked about the first 10 p.m.-midnight practices in the winter, the smell of the spring as she stepped out onto the field for the first outside practice of the year, and her teammates that pushed her to give it her all. She also remembers the two trips to the NCAA Division III Championships, as well as the lifelong friends she made at the college, including meeting her husband, Mike.
"I am beyond honored and humbled to be inducted into the Alma College Hall of Fame," Baszler said. "I was afforded the opportunity to play a sport I love with women who to this day I call my best friends. I had coaches who not only helped me better myself in the game, but also taught me life lessons about determination, work ethic and drive that I still use to this day. I had parents who made many sacrifices for me to be able to achieve my dreams of playing college softball. I was fortunate enough that they never missed a game and it was because of their never ending support that helped me become the player I was and the woman I am today."
