For Jeff Zomer, the final day in Oregon at the NAIA National Championship Opening Round may have captured the heart of Dordt softball's season better than any scoreboard could.

Complete Interview

The games were over. The lineup cards were put away. There was no scouting report to prepare, no pregame warmup schedule to organize and no next opponent waiting on the bracket.

Instead, there was breakfast together. One more day as a team. One more opportunity to reflect on a season that pushed Dordt softball onto the national stage while reinforcing what the program hopes to stand for beyond wins and losses.

"Truthfully, it felt a little bit odd waking up that morning," Zomer said. "I didn't have to put together a lineup card or a pregame schedule. That was unique. But honestly, having that day together was tremendous. I think the team saw it as a significant blessing too. Nobody wanted a quick sprint out of there and quick go home."

That extra day became a fitting conclusion to one of the most significant seasons in program history.


Dordt entered the NAIA National Championship Opening Round as the No. 4 seed in Ashland, Oregon, one of 48 teams remaining in the national field. The Defenders battled through a demanding bracket that included perennial national power Southern Oregon and left convinced they belonged on that stage.

"I really liked our matchups," Zomer said. "Taking a look at it and having seen everyone, I really felt we were the second-best team in that bracket by the time the dust settled."

The experience reinforced what Zomer and his players had believed internally for months. This season was not an unexpected breakthrough. It was the continuation of steady program growth that had been building for years.

"This feeling started last year," Zomer said. "When we finished the conference tournament and knocked Midland out, I really believed that became a mental turning point for this team moving forward."

By the time practices began last fall, conversations within the program had already shifted toward larger expectations.

"Internally, yes, those discussions started to happen," Zomer said. "We believed something like this was possible."

The Defenders spent the early part of the season navigating youth, particularly with freshmen playing major roles in the lineup and circle. Zomer believed the team showed flashes early, but the turning point came after the spring break trip to Florida.

"We were good in February, but we were still navigating what four or five freshmen in our lineup looked like," Zomer said. "But after spring break, things just started to fall into place. We really started to click when conference play began."

What followed was an offensive season unlike anything the program had previously experienced.

Dordt posted record-setting numbers throughout the lineup, with conference player of the year Chloe Kreuz leading one of the most dangerous offenses in the GPAC. The statistical production became so overwhelming that even Zomer occasionally struggled to process it.

"These numbers are silly," Zomer said. "Runs scored, slugging percentage, batting averages. You sit here afterward still trying to process it."

Yet even while acknowledging the eye-popping numbers, Zomer consistently redirected attention back toward the team-centered approach that fueled them.

"Softball is often a very individualized team sport," Zomer said. "But this year, our individual successes were set up tremendously by the team itself."

That interconnectedness showed throughout the lineup.

Opposing coaches frequently asked Zomer after games how they were supposed to pitch around Kreuz, only to discover there was little relief elsewhere in the order. Freshmen Tera Lynn Price, Aubrey De Shaw and Riley Yager all
emerged in key moments late in the season. Veterans like Annabelle Hensley and Lauren Steenstra provided stability and experience throughout the lineup.

Zomer especially reflected on the growth of Steenstra, one of the program's three seniors.

"My journey with Lauren started six or seven years ago," Zomer said. "I believed in her all along. Watching her growth as a college hitter and as a defensive first baseman has been amazing."

Steenstra's development reflected the broader philosophy Zomer has tried to establish within the program. While performance matters, identity cannot be tied solely to results.

"That's difficult in softball because the results come at you constantly," Zomer said. "But we've tried to create a culture that isn't identity-stricken with results."

That philosophy extends far beyond statistics or postseason appearances.

As Zomer reflected on the season, he repeatedly returned to the question he believes matters most within Dordt athletics.

"Was the light of Christ shown and was the Kingdom of God advanced?" Zomer said. "That is the number one goal."

For Zomer, that mission shapes every interaction within the program — from practices and games to relationships with opponents, teammates, faculty and fans.

"We talk often about stewarding the gifts we've been blessed with," Zomer said. "What does that look like when we compete? What does that look like when we interact with opponents and teammates and our community?"

Those conversations, he believes, are foundational to the program's growth.

"There are not enough wins to fill you up," Zomer said. "There are not enough home runs to fill you up."

That perspective has helped create what Zomer describes as momentum that has steadily built over the last three to five seasons. The national tournament run became another marker in that progression rather than a final destination.

"We've had some earmark years where you can feel things starting to turn," Zomer said. "There's been momentum building."

Now comes the challenge of sustaining it.

The roster will lose seniors Steenstra, Peyton Whipple and Sierra Pirkey — three players whose contributions extended far beyond the box score. Zomer described Pirkey as "the cheerleader, the encourager, the doer," while praising Whipple's defensive consistency and Steenstra's evolution into a middle-of-the-order force.

Replacing those players will require more than simply filling positions.

"What happens next largely depends on the team and the players themselves," Zomer said. "How do they want to approach it? What do they want this program to look like moving forward?"

The practices have stopped. The game and practice schedule is empty for the first time in months. Recruiting has resumed, and preparation for future seasons has quietly begun, but the memories of this team remain close.

"It's been quite a ride," Zomer said.