CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illini softball's Laura Trout has been promoted to associate head coach, the program announced on Monday. Trout, who has been with the Fighting Illini softball program since 2015, begins her seventh year with the program, and will continue to serve as the Illini hitting coach in addition to working with the infielders.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lexie Handley, a left-handed pitcher who spent the last three year at Auburn, will join the Ohio State softball program for the 2021-22 season, head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly announced today. She will have one year of eligibility remaining.

MINNEAPOLIS – University of Minnesota softball head coach Piper Ritter announced Wednesday the addition of Makenna Dowell to the Golden Gopher program. Dowell, a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree, will be a graduate student in 2021-22 and will have one year of eligibility remaining. Dowell was a mainstay for the Tigers during her career in Auburn, making over 100 starts and was the only member of the team to start all 51 games last season. As a shortstop she knocked a team-leading 42 hits and crossed home plate 10 times while leading the Tigers with 19 RBI. She finished second on the team with .294 batting average and drew a team-best 20 walks to hold a .381 on-base percentage. Dowell helped the Tigers reach three NCAA Tournaments, and helped the team reach the Tuscan Regional Final in 2019 where she plated a pair of RBI against Colorado State. In total the Suwanee, Ga., native owns a .270 career batting average with 43 RBI and is approaching 100 career hits with 94, 20 of which have been extra-base hits. Coming out of North Gwinnett High School, Dowell was a state champion and a four-time All-County selection. She was named to the All-State team while leading her team to three regional championships. Dowell was inducted into the North Gwinnett High School Hall of Fame after her stellar prep career. Dowell studied psychology at Auburn and plans on pursuing … at the University of Minnesota.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan softball head coach  Carol Hutchins announced Tuesday (July 13) the addition of transfer Kristina Burkhardt to the Wolverine program. Burkhardt, a first team All-ACC honoree as an outfielder for North Carolina, will be a graduate student in 2021-22 and have one year of eligibility remaining.

Find the Ohio State college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports. 

Find the Northwestern college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports.

Find the Minnesota college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports.

Find the Michigan State college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports. 

Find the Indiana college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports. 

Find the Purdue college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports. 

Find the Maryland college softball photo gallery from THE 2021 Spring Games. Photos by Bernie Walls of USA TODAY Sports.

LEESBURG, Fla. – The longest game in Ohio State softball history – 15 innings – ended in the Buckeyes’ favor on Thursday afternoon. And that was just the opening act of the day.

After a week off, the Big Ten “Bubble” returns to the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex in Leesburg, Florida with a full weekend slate of conference games set to open on Thursday, March 11.

How to watch Big Ten softball games with Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa, and Rutgers compete at THE Spring Games Feb. 26-28, 2021 on OTT, desktop, or mobile.

THE Spring Games is the World’s largest college softball event with collegiate teams from NCAA Divisions I, NAIA, and NJCAA teams participating from mid-February to the end of March. THE Spring Games will host over 300 games and is available to live stream or on video-on-demand exclusively on FloSoftball.