ODAC Softball News Archive

After chatting with Virginia Wesleyan pitcher Hanna Hull about winning Academic All-American of the Year laurels for Division III softball, we caught up with her head coach, Brandon Elliott, to get his take on the honor as well as all things Marlin and ODAC softball.

The ODAC had a chance to catch up with Virginia Wesleyan softball standout lefty Hanna Hull on Friday morning. She is no stranger to big awards, having helped the Marlins to two national championships and twice being named the best player in Division III by the NFCA. This time, however, she picked up a different type of honor as the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Division III softball.

The awards case for Hanna Hull was already full, but the Virginia Wesleyan University lefty will have to make room for not one but two more honors. Hull was named a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Tuesday afternoon, but the recognition did not stop there. The Marlins senior also earned Academic All-American of the Year for softball.

For the third straight season, the softball player of the year calls an ODAC school home. University of Lynchburg first baseman Mackenzie Chitwood earned Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III Player of the Year honors as announced by the NFCA on Friday afternoon. The award is an addition to the First Team All-America nod she received from the organization earlier this month.

Randolph-Macon saw its historic softball season come to a close on Friday afternoon in their second contest of the national championship series in the 2019 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament hosted by the University of Texas at Tyler at Suddenlink Field in Tyler, Texas.

Randolph-Macon junior Shelby Hill (Mechanicsville, Va. / St. Margaret's) singled over the Christopher Newport second baseman, bringing in senior Candace Whittemore (Montpelier, Va. / Patrick Henry) in extra innings to tie the NCAA Tournament Super Regional series at 1-1. The two teams will battle it out in a deciding game three later this afternoon.

Two down, two to go. That could be a theme for Virginia Wesleyan University softball and the class of 2020, especially for sophomore Hanna Hull as the Marlins lefty was named the Division III Player of the Year for the second straight season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

The NCAA Division III softball walnut and bronze prize resides in The Commonwealth for another year as reigning national champion Virginia Wesleyan University claimed its second straight title with a 3-1 victory over Illinois Wesleyan University in game three of the best-of-three championship series in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan University softball team split the first two games of the NCAA Division III Championship Title Series with Illinois Wesleyan University Monday afternoon at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. The squad came out victorious in game one, winning 6-1, before being edged, 5-4, in extra innings in game two. With the results, the Marlins are now 54-3 on the season and will square off against Illinois Wesleyan in a winner take all game beginning at 11 a.m. (12 p.m. EST) on Tuesday.

Bridgewater College women's golfer Christina Herbert and Virginia Wesleyan University softball pitcher Hanna Hull both earned nominations for the Division III Woman Athlete of the Year award as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is pleased to announce that Virginia Wesleyan University freshman pitcher Hanna Hull has been named the 2017 winner of the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year award.

Homeruns and stellar pitching have Virginia Wesleyan softball just one win away from capturing the program’s first national title as the Marlins knocked off St. John Fisher College, 5-0, in the first of two scheduled games in the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament championship series.

Virginia Wesleyan College pitcher Kandis Kresinske headlined four ODAC players who received All-American awards from the NFCA at a presentation on Wednesday evening in Salem, Va. The Marlins righty was named the inaugural Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III Freshman from the Year in addition to earning First Team All-America distinction.

The No. 1-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College softball team put two runners on base in the final inning with one out, but could not push across the tying run, falling 2-1 to No. 2 Salisbury University in the Norfolk, Virginia Regional of the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

The No. 1-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College softball team opened up play in the Norfolk, Virginia Regional of the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament with a 2-0 loss to Saint Vincent College.

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference is pleased to announce the 2014-15 ODAC Sportsmanship Teams in each of the 17 winter and spring sports sponsored by the conference. This marks the sixth year the league has recognized these fine student-athletes for their excellence in sportsmanship.

Bridgewater has announced the hiring of Elisabeth "Lis" Schulz as the College's new head softball coach. Schulz spent the past three seasons as the assistant coach at Geneva College in Pennsylvania. She called pitches and coordinated pitching conditioning, coached first base and was heavily involved with recruiting and practice planning.

Freshman Skylar Toth smacked a two-run homer to spark a four-run top of the 12th as the Randolph-Macon softball team posted an 8-6 victory over Salem in an elimination game at the Newport News Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, Bridgewater College will have a new head softball coach. Following a nationwide search, Bridgewater College Director of Athletics Curt Kendall has announced the hiring of Kim McCall as the Eagles' new head softball coach. McCall takes the reins from longtime head coach Donnie Fulk, who announced in September that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the 2014 season after 23 years at the helm of the program.

Guilford College second baseman Cynthia Hayes and Virginia Wesleyan College centerfield Tori Higginbotham were tabbed First Team All-Americans by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday evening in a ceremony prior to the start of the NCAA Division III Softball National Championship Series. The duo lead a list of 21 softball awards earned by ODAC student-athletes.

Ninth-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College saw it season come to a close on Sunday afternoon as the host Marlins dropped an 8-5 decision to Christopher Newport. It marked the second loss in two days to Captains, propelling them to the super regionals of the NCAA Tournament. VWC caps its season with a 39-7 overall record.

Montclair State University's Red Hawks took advantage of an error in the top of the eighth inning Sunday to plate what turned out to be the winning run for in a 3-2 regional championship victory over Virginia Wesleyan College's Marlins. VWC finishes with a 41-8 record, the most wins for any sport in the Marlins athletic program.

Alex Hill (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany Hills) singled up the middle in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday to send in the winning run as No. 1 seeded Montclair State University slipped past No. 3 seeded Virginia Wesleyan College 2-1 in the winner's bracket final of the NCAA's Montclair Regional in softball.

The Roanoke College Softball team fell 8-1 to Emory University in the elimination game of the NCAA Div. III Regional Tournament at the Moyer Complex on Sunday. The Maroons finish the season 31-14 while the Eagles, ranked #4 in the NFCA Coaches' poll, improve to 40-4 and move on to the loser's bracket final against Piedmont.

Virginia Wesleyan's Tori Higginbotham and Kristina Karagiorgis and Roanoke's Leona Rainey (pictured, l-r) were announced as All-Americans by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Thursday night in Salem in conjunction with the NCAA Division III National Championship. The trio lead a list of 15 ODAC softball players who earned All-Region honors.

Roanoke pitcher not only tossed her second shutout of the 2012 NCAA Division III Softball Championship, but she went 3-for-3 at the dish and drove in both of the Maroons' runs as they moved within one game of the national semifinals with a 2-0 win over Luther College. Roanoke faces Linfield at 7:30 p.m. later on Saturday.

Roanoke fell to Linfield College, 6-1, on Sunday evening at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va., eliminating the Maroons from further competition in the tournament. Roanoke received the fourth place trophy (pictured) in the awards ceremony following the game, the program's best finish in three final round appearances.

Roanoke outfielder Leona Rainey (pictured) was named an All-American by the NFCA last week in its annual awards ceremony at the NCAA Division III Softball Championship banquet in Salem. The ODAC was represented by 11 student-athletes on the NFCA All-Region teams.

Virginia Wesleyan was eliminated from the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament during its regional action at Salisbury University. The Marlins fell to Christopher Newport University, 8-6, in the first round on Thursday. The next day, Kean University out-slugged VWC, 13-5, in five innings.

Virginia Wesleyan will be the lone representative from the ODAC in the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament, as announced in the NCAA selection show on Monday afternoon. The Marlins earned their place in the NCAA field by winning the ODAC Tournament as the sixth seed. VWC took the shortest route to the title, winning four games including the final against Randolph.

Bridgewater College designated player Emily Morris was recently named to the All-America Third Team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The only ODAC student-athlete on any of three All-America teams, Morris heads a list of 11 conference student-athletes named to the NFCA Atlantic All-Region Teams.

Eastern Mennonite took on Greensboro College in the loser's bracket at the Newport News Regional of the NCAA Division III National Softball Championships. EMU took an early lead but had hopes of an NCAA win dashed when the Pride scored five in the bottom of the sixth to steal a 7-3 decision. The loss knocks EMU out of the NCAA tournament.

Four ODAC softball players added honors to their portfolios as CoSIDA announced its academic all-district teams. LC outfielder Lauren Duguay and BC designated player Emily Morris were named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 3 First Team. Eagles’ infielders Leah Cossentino and Angela Spinelli were tabbed to the second team.

Senior outfielder Brittany Allsop (Milford, CT/Johnathan Law) recently earned Second-Team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American honors.

Bridgewater College's bid to reach the NCAA Division III Championship finals came up one run short as the Eagles lost to Salisbury University, 2-1, Sunday afternoon.

The Bridgewater College Eagles stayed alive in the NCAA softball tournament Saturday morning by eliminating Lynchburg College, 4-2, at Salisbury University.

Lynchburg College picked up the final regular season victory in the conference on Wednesday evening, giving the Hornets a 16-2 league mark (33-5 overall) and securing themselves the top seed in the 2008 ODAC Softball Championship. Virginia Wesleyan College holds the down the #2 spot while Eastern Mennonite University won the league tie-breakers with Roanoke College for the third seed. Bridgewater College comes in as the fifth-rated squad after joining Lynchburg in the NCAA tournament last season, and Guilford College rounds out the field as the sixth seed.

The Lynchburg College softball team received a first-round bye in the upcoming NCAA Division III Championship Tournament and will travel to Fayetteville, N.C., this weekend to take on the winner of Emory University and LaGrange College. The contest will be held on Thursday, May 8, at 4:00 p.m. The entire tournament will use a double-elimination format.

Bridgewater College and Lynchburg College sit tied at the top of the 2008 ODAC Softball Coaches Poll. Both squads earned 91 total votes with Bridgewater receiving four first place votes and Lynchburg picked up three top nods. Roanoke College was picked third in the survey with 84 votes and two first place selections, and Eastern Mennonite holds the fourth spot with 70 votes and one top tally.

A change has been made to the coaching title at Virginia Wesleyan College for Brandon Elliott. Drop the term “interim” that has preceded the “head softball coach” title he has owned for the last couple of months after stepping in to guide the Marlins’ softball program.

The WildCat Athletics Department announced the hiring of Jennifer Steele as the new Randolph College softball coach today. Steele, a former all-American softball player at Longwood University, will take over the Randolph College (founded as Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1891) softball program beginning on July 1.

Lynchburg College outfielder Caroline Cubbage picked up her second straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) softball Player of the Year award at the annual coaches meeting during the league’s championship weekend. Bridgewater College hurler Lisa Rhodes was voted the ODAC Pitcher of the Year, and Roanoke College pitcher/first baseman Kelsey Ruitenberg was tabbed the conference’s Rookie of the Year.

One record increases and another begins as the ODAC Board of Directors handed out the league's highest individual honors in naming the winners of the Majorie Berkley and Harry G. "Doc" Jopson Awards. Washington and Lee University swimmer Emily Hageboeck earned Berkley Award recognition, while University of Lynchburg runner Shawn Gmurek collected Jopson Award laurels. Hageboeck is the 11th winner of the Berkley Award from W&L, furthering the Generals conference record. Eastern Mennonite University student-athletes have won the second-most honors at six. For Gmurek, the list is brand new as he is the first Hornet from Lynchburg to claim the Jopson Award. He does continue an interesting trend as a cross country or track & field athlete has collected Berkley and/or Jopson distinction each of the past seven years dating back to 2014.

The ODAC caught up with University of Lynchburg cross country and track & field standout student-athlete Shawn Gmurek, who won the Harry G. "Doc" Jopson Award as the conference's top senior scholar-athlete. He is the first winner of the Jopson Award in Lynchburg history.

Emory & Henry College Director of Athletics Anne Crutchfield has announced that Leroy Worley has been selected as Interim Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach.