USSSA has named former softball star Lauren Chamberlain as the National Director of USA-Elite Select, which compromises a division of USSSA’s Fastpitch arm. Following her stellar collegiate career, Chamberlain played for the USSSA Pride professional team and has been involved with USSSA in various ambassadorial roles since her playing career ended. “I am beyond excited for my new role within the USSSA organization,” Chamberlain said in an organization press release. “Having competed at every level of softball, I feel that I have a strong perspective and a unique relationship with the sport and its current players. I am looking forward…
Author: jmcleod
Who is she? Maddy Lewis, a former infielder for the UC San Diego Tritons. What is she known for? Lewis burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2016, earning all-region and all-conference honors and being selected as a finalist for National Freshman of the Year. She earned All-Academic honors from the conference in each year of her career, and earned a pair of All-CCAA First Team awards as a junior and senior. In 2019, her senior season, she was named the Tritons’ Most Valuable Player and led the conference in defensive assists. Here’s something interesting… Lewis played baseball through much of her…
The art of the “hitting pitcher” is not as prevalent as it once was. During the days of greats like Lisa Fernandez and Jennie Finch, pitchers often hit for themselves in the batting order and many all-time great hurlers were also sensational offensive threats. In today’s game, some star pitchers don’t pick up a bat for a variety of reasons. Many prefer to avoid the risk of injury, while others are grateful to have some time to relax or game plan while their teams stack up the run support behind them. Even still, though, there are quite a number of…
Wichita State head coach Kristi Bredbenner recorded her 600th career win on Tuesday night in a victory over Kansas City. While the Shockers’ head coach celebrates her milestone victory, here are Five Fast Facts about her career. 1. She is in her 10th season as Wichita State head coach. Bredbenner took over the Shockers program ahead of the 2012 season and has been at the helm ever since. In 2018, she signed a 5-year contract extension. 2. She has led the Shockers to two Regional appearances. The Shockers reached the NCAA tournament in 2016 and 2018, and played in the…
NEWS AND NOTES North Carolina State set the program’s single-season record for stolen bases with the 61st swiped bag of the year. Oakland shortstop Jamie Squires set the program’s all-time record for RBIs by driving in the 98th run of her career. South Carolina’s Mackenzie Boesel tied the Gamecocks’ program record for career home runs. Indiana’s Gabbi Jenkins broke the Hoosier program record for career stolen bases with the 91st swiped bag of her career. Villanova’s Paige Rauch set the program’s career home run record with the 35th longball of her tenure with the Wildcats. Henderson State’s Kailey Reese set…
Miami (OH) pitcher Courtney Vierstra has been named the JWOS Player of the Week for her efforts during Week 9 of the regular season. In a conference series against Akron, Vierstra started three of her team’s four games and recorded a no-hitter and a perfect game in two of her three starts. During the series opener on Friday, Vierstra threw a 5-inning no-hitter, with the only blemish on her record a 1st-inning hit batter that was erased in short order on a stolen base attempt. She recorded twelve strikeouts in the game, and threw just 66 pitches in the run-rule-shortened…
Head softball coach Beverly Smith has received a 3-year contract extension, South Carolina announced last week. Smith’s extension will run through the 2025 season, and she was one of three Gamecock head coaches extended through a similar time period. Men’s basketball coach Frank Martin and men’s golf coach Bill McDonald also reached similar agreements. Now in her 11th season as the Gamecocks’ head coach, Smith owns more than 350 wins and has reached the NCAA tournament in seven consecutive seasons entering 2021. The Gamecocks hosted a regional in 2018 and reached the Super regional round. In 2021, the Gamecocks currently…
Throughout her career at North Texas, Hope Trautwein has shown on many occasions just how dominant of a pitcher she is and can be. On Sunday, though, she set a new standard, an even higher bar, for herself, for her program, and for the game of softball. In a game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Trautwein did not allow a single hitter to reach base. The first perfect game of her career, it was also the first perfect game in North Texas program history and the second in the record books for Conference USA. But that’s not all: Trautwein also recorded every…
Montevallo head coach Lindsey Vanover has resigned her position, the school announced earlier this week. Vanover was the Division II program’s inaugural head coach, building the program from scratch and serving a nearly-decade-long tenure as head coach. During Vanover’s tenure as head coach, the Falcons reached the conference tournament three times: Twice while in the Peach Belt and once in the Gulf South Conference. The Falcons boasted a pair of All-Americans in their first few years as a competing program, and notched a 144-160 overall record during Vanover’s tenure. In a statement, Montevallo athletic director Mark Richard said, “I would…
Former Kentucky pitcher Meghan Schorman is transferring to Mizzou, she confirmed via social media on Thursday. “To say the transfer process has been a roller coaster of emotions does not even explain the half of it. A lot of tears have been shed and I’ve been very indecisive. With that being said, I’m excited to announce that I will be continuing my academic and athletic career at Mizzou,” Schorman tweeted early Thursday morning. Schorman entered the transfer portal on February 18th, departing the Kentucky program that same week. She did not appear in any games for the Wildcats during the…