As the season of “March Madness” begins for basketball fans, it’s never too early to begin looking at the potential NCAA softball bracket and who might play the role of bracket-buster in May. With nearly a full month of the 2018 softball season already gone, few teams have surprised and impressed like the UC Davis Aggies. In 2017, the Aggies finished dead last in the conference, eighth out of eight teams and with just 22 wins on the year. Now, eighteen games into their 2018 campaign, the Aggies have already reached the halfway mark to their win total from a year…
Author: jmcleod
Texas Tech junior Jessica Hartwell was named the JWOS Player of the Week on Tuesday. Hartwell hit .440 on the weekend, with six home runs and nineteen runs batted in. She added two triples and a double to her stats, earned two walks and was hit by a pitch. The junior infielder hit a home run in five of her team’s seven games on the week, including a two-home-run performance against New Mexico State in a midweek matchup. Hartwell got a hit in six of the weekend’s games and recorded at least two RBI in five of the seven matchups.…
Cumiskey’s coolness has Gardner-Webb off to hot start In 2017, it took until the end of March for the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs to win their tenth game. Just one year later, it’s barely the beginning of March and head coach Tom Cole’s team has already reached that threshold. Two of the games in the “W” column from the team’s opening weekend came thanks to the heroics of senior Rachel Cumiskey, whose coolness under pressure led to two walk-off swings, including a moonshot of a home run that secured a win over the Hampton Pirates. After her team earned their first…
Who is she? Nicole Pauly, a former star infielder for the Northwestern Wildcats and in the National Pro Fastpitch league. What is she known for? Pauly was a four-time all-Big Ten second baseman for the Wildcats from 2007-2010, earning all-region honors three times. At the end of her collegiate career, she was ranked second all-time in the NU record books for runs and third in career home runs, RBI, doubles, and total bases. Following her collegiate career, Pauly played in the NPF for the Chicago Bandits and the Akron Racers. Here’s something interesting… In addition to being a softball superstar, Nicole was recruited…
UNLV head coach and former Arizona star Kristie Fox will be inducted into the Wildcats’ athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018. Fox will be one of nine former Wildcats who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony on August 31st. The group will be introduced at halftime of the Arizona/BYU football games on September 1. During her career at Arizona, from 2004-2007, Fox earned two all-American honors, in 2005 and 2006, and ended her career as a Wildcat with a .350 batting average and 260 career hits. She was selected fifth overall…
“It would definitely have to be the right place at the right time.” As an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, Lauren Cognigni entered the summer of 2017 preparing for another season to come with the Panthers. Then a former coaching colleague clued her in about the head coaching vacancy at Oakland University in Michigan. “After looking up the university and the area that it is in, and seeing what their athletic programs have done and the direction they are moving in, it was definitely something that I thought would be a good starting point for me as far as getting my…
The Judi Garman Classic has built itself into being known as one of the premier early-season tournaments during softball season. An annual tournament hosted by Cal State Fullerton, the event provides another west-coast venue for top-level matchups before conference play begins. But who is the woman that this popular event is named after? Judi Garman coached the Fullerton Titans from 1980-1999, compiling 913 wins and leading her squad to the National Championship title in 1986. Upon her retirement in 1999, Garman held the record for the highest win total in the sport’s history; the mark included her 1,124 career wins, including…
Arizona pitcher Taylor McQuillin has been named the JWOS Player of the Week after an undefeated weekend. McQuillin posted a perfect 4-0 record in her team’s five games at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California over the weekend. Earning victories over North Carolina, Missouri, and Cal State Northridge, McQuillin also held defending champions Oklahoma scoreless. It was the first time since February 11, 2017 that an opposing pitcher held the Sooners without a run. Appearing in each of her team’s games, including a one-inning appearance that resulted in her earning the save against St. John’s, McQuillin ended the weekend…
Only three ranked teams are left unbeaten after action at the Mary Nutter Classic. Washington moved to 18-0 on the year, while UCLA sports a 15-0 mark and Baylor is 9-0. Four teams – LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Cal – each ended their unbeaten starts to the season thanks to losses at the Mary Nutter in Cathedral City. Now, for the headlines and highlights of the week… NEWS Northwestern State head coach Donald Pickett became the Lady Demons’ program career wins leader with his 246th. Ole Miss senior outfielder Elantra Cox set the Rebels program’s all-time record for hits. Lipscomb…
Tennessee star and reigning SEC Player of the Year Meghan Gregg was honored by the Georgia House of Representatives on the House floor on Monday. House Resolution 1126 was introduced during the House’s session on Monday. Authored by Representative Johnnie Caldwell, Jr., the resolution was noted as being for the purpose of “recognizing and commending” Gregg. Gregg, a Georgia native from the district now represented by Caldwell, earned a standing ovation from House members and those present when she was introduced. The 2017 SEC Player of the Year, Gregg was a first-team all-American and a top three finalist for National Player…