Wonder Woman of the Week: Hope Trautwein
This week's Wonder Woman is an athlete who channeled her inner Jackie Mitchell to throw a perfect game recently and make herself a news phenomenon for her collegiate softball game, but there's more to Hope Trautwein than just one perfectly pitched game. Trautwein recently made news headlines for pitching a perfect game (when a baseball or softball player goes an entire game without any opposing players hitting the ball) in a Division 1 NCAA softball game for her North Texas University team against Arkansas Pine Bluff, but it wasn't the first time the college senior threw a no-hitter. As an underclassman, she had thrown no-hitters in two games and- in 2020- struck out twenty-one batters in a single game. This most recent game however was different due to Trautwein pitching for all seven innings of the game and striking out every batter in the game. It was also the first time in collegiate softball history for a Division 1 pitcher to do so.
Beyond the perfect game feat, there has only been two other pitchers in NCAA softball history to strike out twenty-one batters at the Division 1 level- Alabama's Alexis Osorio being the most recent to do so in 2018 and California's Michelle Granger being the first by striking out a whopping twenty-five batters in a single game in 1991. Off the field, Trautwein's performance continues to inspire. The athlete earned honor roll at her university every year in school so far and is a USA Commissioner's Academic Medal recipient for each year in school so far as well. This is all while finishing her undergraduate degree and applying for a Master's program in business.
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