Livonia — “All ‘Donna, all day” will go down in history as a national championship chant.
The Madonna University women’s softball team made history, winning its first NAIA World Series on May 28 after beating Southeastern University, 8-4, in the title game at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia.
“There were so many things going through my mind. I guess the biggest thing is being happy for these guys, all the work they put in, all the stuff we do on a regular basis,” said Ron Pezzoni, the head coach of the team at the university in Livonia. “This game is kind of boring at practice, and they bought into doing those little things every day and working hard at that.”
Finishing the 2025 season with a perfect 24-0 record in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and 45-10 overall, Madonna knocked out of opening round of the NAIA Tournament by the University of Rio Grande (Ohio), 2-0. That loss weighed heavily on players like infielder Ashley Rosiewicz and pitcher Camille Oyer, but they came into this season with their eyes on the prize.
“We really continued to put in that hard work — the year before, our freshman season, we were able to make it to the world series and make a good run,” said Rosiewicz, a Plymouth product. “Knowing what it feels like to lose really drove us and motivated us even more to make it all the way and push ourselves.”
Both players led their team this season. Oyer, a Canton product, was the team’s ace, finishing 21-0 with a 1.01 ERA, and 66 strikeouts. Rosiewicz hit .423 with team highs of 15 home runs and 73 RBIs, and a .797 slugging percentage.
That helped Madonna finish with a 52-4 record, including 13-0 at home, and were the top-seeded team in the postseason.
“We were more in it for each other instead of in it for ourselves, and it’s the little things that mattered this year,” said Oyer, a righthander.
Infielder Faith Cramton was a newcomer, arriving from Concordia University in Ann Arbor, and led the Madonna with a .435 average. To her surprise, a yearly family tradition of attending the Polish American Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Troy, turned into a small spotlight moment for the Canton product.
While at the induction ceremony for former NFL player Rob Gronkowski, Cramton was recognized as a national champion in front of the audience and received a visit from one of Madonna’s board members shortly after.
“I had no idea that it was happening — If I’m being honest, I kind of blacked out,” Cramton said when she heard her name called. “I’m just so happy to be a part of that team. Honestly, it’s the best team that I’ve been on. Coach Ron Pezzoni, he’s one of the best coaches that I’ve ever played for.”
Building softball players is in Pezzoni’s blood. Recently named the 2026 NAIA Softball Coach of the Year, he is the co-owner and founder of a softball training program, Turnin2 Softball.
Coaching is the same for him whether it’s the 15-year-olds at Turnin2 or the collegiate athletes at Madonna, and his goal is simply to get them where they want to be.
“Madonna’s been a very successful program for a long time and when I ended up getting the job, I definitely wanted to keep that tradition along with hopefully improving it,” Pezzoni said. “The majority of the group was my first recruiting class — doing what they did this year was really special, especially as quick as they did it.”
Their minds were made up that they were taking the championship this year, and nothing could stand in their way, not even losing a top pitcher, Avrey Wolverton (Howell), to a season-ending injury in March.
Business kept going and there wasn’t much discussion around having a person down. The team remained focused, teammates stepped up, and the situation encouraged them to play harder and win it all for her.
“We knew that there was no team better than us there; we just had to play our game and we would’ve won. I also feel that we play better under pressure,” Oyer said.
“Everyone trusted everyone on the whole team. Everyone is hyped for every moment,” Rosiewicz said. “It wasn’t a moment of doubt really because we knew we could accomplish great things.”
It’s only the beginning for Madonna softball, because now they have a target on their back. The players understand that being upperclassmen means they are role models for the underclassmen, and even new players joining the sisterhood.
“At the World Series, there’s one thing that (a teammate’s) boyfriend was doing, and it really stuck with us and the fans, and it got us hyped when the fans were really hype,” Oyer said about the championship-winning chant.
“All ‘Donna,” Oyer smiled.
“All day,” Rosiewicz responded, following her teammate’s lead.
amarable@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: For Madonna softball, early exit in 2025 helped fuel national title
Reporting by Alauna Marable , The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alauna Marable , The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
