California head coach Diane Ninemire has stepped down from her role, effective immediately, the school announced on Tuesday night. Ninemire cited health reasons as the motive for her departure. Ninemire spent more than three decades leading the Bears, amassing more than 1,350 wins and the only National Championship in program history. She led the program to the Women’s College World Series a dozen times, reaching the sport’s pinnacle with the Women’s College World Series title in 2002. “I’ve loved this job from my first day at Cal,” Ninemire said. “I’m stepping down because of health reasons that are preventing me…
Author: jmcleod
Clemson pitcher/utility player Valerie Cagle has been named the JWOS Player of the Week for Week 4 of the Division I season. A freshman for the Tigers, Cagle began the week with a stellar performance in the circle against Georgia in a midweek matchup, holding the Bulldogs to one run on three hits and helping buoy her team to the first win in program history over a ranked opponent. In the weekend series against Virginia – the inaugural conference series for the Tigers – Cagle batted .692, recording multiple hits in each of her team’s three games. In the series…
Hi Softball World, I hope everyone enjoyed my first blog post! Finally, LMU started off the season! We started off strong! The first 5 game of the season were played at Cal State Fullerton. It was very exciting! We had a lot of fans in the stadium. Our team ended up staying in a hotel, which was a great team bonding experience! Our next 5 games were played at Lake Elsinore, where we stayed at a hotel again. A lot of our fans ended up making it out to the game which was awesome to see. The next set of…
The 2020 edition of the Grand Slam Triangle Classic is officially in the books. The tournament, which brought together a plethora of Division III teams, including some of the nation’s top programs, took place in Raleigh, North Carolina over the weekend. A tournament that began more than a decade ago as a 3- or 4-team affair, the Triangle Classic is the brainchild of William Peace head coach Charlie Dobbins, who also operates the Grand Slam facility in Raleigh. Dobbins has organized and helmed the tournament since its inception. Christopher Newport, Arcadia, and Piedmont College kicked off the tournament on Friday,…
Texas head coach Mike White earned the 500th win of his career on Saturday. White led the Longhorns to a 1-0 victory over Michigan to reach the milestone, giving his team a 4-1 record against top-ranked teams within a week’s time. Now in his second season as the Longhorns’ head coach, the victory was the 65th of White’s tenure in Austin. He led the Horns to forty-six victories in his inaugural season leading the program, and overall win #500 put the Horns at 19-3 on the still-young 2020 campaign. Prior to taking the helm at Texas, White was the head…
College of Charleston head coach Linda Kalafatis earned her 1,000th career win over the weekend, reaching the milestone in a victory over Appalachian State. Now in her seventh season as the Cougars’ head coach, Kalafatis’ resume also includes sixteen years as the head coach at Ohio State, as well as tenures at the helm of Akron and California University of Pennsylvania. After her team’s weekend slate, Kalafatis sat down to talk about the milestone win, and to reflect on her decades-long successful career. On what the milestone win meant to her… “Honestly, it just felt good to get another win on…
Game stories are not the norm at JWOS, but Clemson’s victory over Georgia on Wednesday deserves to be an exception to that rule. The Tigers took the win in a 4-1 final score over the Bulldogs, recording the first victory over a ranked opponent in program history. Not only the first win over a ranked opponent, the victory was also the Tigers’ first over an SEC foe. After opening the season 0-2 against Power Five teams, the Tigers are now on a 5-game winning streak against such opponents, following a 4-0 showing in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and Wednesday night’s…
Former Gannon University (D2) student-athlete Katie Eckelberry passed away on Friday night after injuries suffered in a car accident in Pittsburgh. Eckelberry was struck head-on while driving late Friday night, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to various reports. She graduated from Gannon in 2018, and spent four years as part of the Lady Knights’ softball program. “Katie was such a tremendous individual who was committed to making a positive impact in the community,” Gannon athletic director Lisa Goddard McGuirk said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this difficult time.”…
Indiana assistant coach Chanda Bell has been named the pitching coach for the Chicago Bandits. Bell will spend the summer pro season as the Bandits’ pitching coach, while also remaining on the Hoosiers’ staff. Following her own collegiate playing career, Bell entered the coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Marshall. She spent four seasons on the Thundering Herd staff, shepherding program legend Jordan Dixon through her own playing career and helping guide the program to a .616 winning percentage during that time. Prior to the 2018 season, Bell followed head coach Shonda Stanton to Indiana, where she was later…
Kentucky’s Bailey Vick and Oregon’s Haley Cruse earned JWOS Co-Players of the Week honors; now, we highlight the top performances that also caught our eye this week. Kate Gordon, James Madison The Dukes’ star senior batted .800 for her team in six games this week, posting sixteen hits in twenty at-bats. She recorded four doubles, a triple, and three home runs, and ended the week with an on-base percentage of .826 and a slugging percentage of 1.550. She posted a perfect 4-4 showing against North Carolina, and hit a home run in each of her team’s games against…