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Softball is a popular variation of baseball,the difference being that it is played with a larger ball,on a smaller field,and with only underhand pitches permitted. Softball is played competitively at club levels,the college level,and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
Shortstop,abbreviated SS,is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base,which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically,the position was assigned to defensive specialists who were typically poor at batting and were often placed at the bottom of the batting order. Today,shortstops are often able to hit well and many are placed at the top of the lineup. In the numbering system used by scorers to record defensive plays,the shortstop is assigned the number 6.
Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002,where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-American. Later she led the United States women's national softball team to the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also pitched for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch from 2005 to 2010.
The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California,Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal,the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC),and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). In 2014,Cal instituted a strict academic standard for an athlete's admission to the university. By the 2017 academic year 80 percent of incoming student athletes were required to comply with the University of California general student requirement of having a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average.
Monica Cecilia Abbott is a retired American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball League. In international competition,she has played for Team USA from 2005 including the national softball team winning a silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Abbott is the NCAA Division I leader in wins,strikeouts,shutouts and innings.
Jennifer Lynn Allard is a former All-American softball player at the University of Michigan and the current head coach of the University of Pittsburgh softball team. Allard played for the Michigan Wolverines softball team from 1987–1990,where she was named an All-Big Ten player four straight years. She was a third baseman as a freshman and sophomore and a pitcher as a junior and senior. In 1989,Allard was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup. She has been the head coach at Harvard since 1995,where she led the Crimson to its first Ivy League championship in 1992 and has followed with three more Ivy League crowns. In 1997,Allard told her team that she was a lesbian,becoming one of the first major college coaches to openly announce her homosexuality. In 2008,Allard was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.
Lovieanne Jung is a Filipino-American,former collegiate All-American,two-time medal winning Olympian,retired softball player. She began her college softball career at Fresno State as a second baseman,then transferred to Arizona and played as a shortstop. She represented the United States women's national softball team winning a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics,and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Petra van Heijst is a Dutch softball player,who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions. Her brother Frank is a baseballer in the Dutch Hoofdklasse.
Kim Kluijskens is a Dutch softball player,who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions.
Kristi Lynn DeVries is an American-Dutch softball player who has represented the Netherlands women's national softball team in international competitions.
Sharron Backus is a former softball player and coach. She played as a shortstop and third baseman on seven Amateur Softball Association national championship teams from 1961 to 1975. She served as the head softball coach at UCLA from 1975 to 1997 and led her teams to nine national collegiate softball championships. At the time of her retirement in 1997,she was the winningest college softball coach in the history of the sport. Backus has been inducted into both the National Softball Hall of Fame and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Charlotte Lee Morgan is an American former professional softball pitcher and current head coach for Cal State Northridge. She played college softball for Alabama from 2007 to 2010,where she is the career leader for the school in RBIs,also ranking top-15 in the NCAA Division I. She was also named a four-time all-conference honoree and twice named SEC Player of the Year. Morgan was the No. 1 draft pick in the 2010 National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft,beginning her career with The USSSA Pride based in Kissimmee,Florida,winning a title in 2010. In 2020,Morgan was named the head coach of the California State University,Northridge softball team after previously working at several colleges as a pitching coach.
Alexis Amber Gray-Lawson is a basketball player who most recently played for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. She was the 2010 recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith award,which is presented by the WBCA annually to 'the nation's most outstanding NCAA Division I female basketball player who stands 5'8" tall or under".
The UCLA Bruins softball team represents the University of California,Los Angeles in NCAA Division I softball. The Bruins are among the most decorated programs in NCAA softball,leading all schools in NCAA championships with 12,13 overall Women's College World Series championships,championship game appearances with 22,WCWS appearances with 36,and NCAA Tournament wins with 187.
Haylie Marie Wagner is an American softball pitcher for the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch. From 2012 to 2015,she was a left-handed pitcher for the Michigan Wolverines softball team. She was unanimously selected the 2012 Big Ten Conference Softball Pitcher of the Year after compiling a 32–7 record and a 1.53 earned run average (ERA) in her freshman year. She finished her college career with a 100–18 win record and a 1.82 ERA. Since 2015,Wagner has pitched for the Pennsylvania Rebellion,but the club was dissolved in 2017.
Samantha Jo Findlay is an American softball coach and former softball player. She is currently an assistant coach with the DePaul Blue Demons softball team. She previously played professional softball in the National Pro Fastpitch league (NPF) for the Chicago Bandits (2008-2010) and USSSA Pride (2011).
Dallas Jade Escobedo is a Mexican-American,former collegiate All-American,Olympian,professional softball pitcher and coach. She played college softball for Arizona State in the from 2011 to 2014,where she led them to the 2011 Women's College World Series title and ranks in several pitching categories for both institutions. She is currently the pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton.
Taylor Thom is a shortstop for the Dallas Charge,a softball team based in Dallas,TX as a member of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF).
Jolene Nicole Henderson is an American,former collegiate All-American,professional All-Star,right-handed hitting softball pitcher and first baseman and softball Assistant Coach,originally from Elk Grove,California. She was a starting pitcher for the California Golden Bears from 2010–13 where she is the career leader in wins and was a 4-time All-Pac-12 player. She is the reigning National Pro Fastpitch Pitcher of The Year after being drafted #3 overall in 2013 and currently ranks top-10 in career wins,ERA,WHIP and fielding percentage and is on the roster for the independent softball team the USSSA Pride. She also played on the United States women's national softball team in 2014.
Amanda Lorenz is an American professional softball player and member of the United States women's national softball team. She played college softball at Florida,where she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year in 2016. Following her college career,she played professionally for USSSA Pride. She most recently played in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball league where she won the 2024 championship as the top individual points leader.
References
- 1 2 Athlete biography: Britt Vonk, beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 16, 2008 Archived September 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Hays, Graham (18 May 2011). "Britt Vonk travels to find success at Cal". ESPN.com .
- ↑ "Cal Softball Season Statistics 2010–2011" . Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ↑ Suckow, Kelly (14 March 2011). "Fielder's Choice: Britt Vonk Left High School to Play Softball, a Decision That Eventually Brought Her to Cal". The Daily Californian .
- ↑ "Freshman Feature - Q&A With Britt Vonk". CalBears.com. 5 May 2011.
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