June 30, 2009
Columbia, Mo. - Missouri's softball coaches, Ehren Earleywine, Melissa Tucci, Mark Redburn and Pete D'Amour were named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Midwest Staff of the Year as announced on Monday. The honor is a first for the 34 year old program, although former Head Coach Jay Miller received Midwest Region Coach of the Year accolades in 1994 and 1997.
Earleywine, who recently completed his third season as head coach, guided his squad to a program-best 50 wins in 2009, advancing to the Women's College World Series for just the fourth time in school history and first time in 15 years. Throughout the season, the Tigers earned the title of Big 12 Champions, NCAA Regional Champions and NCAA Super Regional Champions. Missouri finished postseason competition with an 8-3 mark.
Known as a hitting coach, Earleywine's team turned in an impressive .313 average, the best year end average for a Tiger squad since 1997 (.318). Six players managed batting averages above .300 with sophomores Shana White (.407) and Rhea Taylor (.404) hitting at .400 clip.
Redburn, an assistant coach, and D'Amour, a volunteer assistant, helped the Tigers in the circle. The duo combined on pitching and catching responsibilities, coaching Missouri's four-person pitching staff to a 1.47 ERA. Senior Stacy Delaney, junior Jana Hainey and freshmen Chelsea Thomas and Kristin Nottelmann managed 24 shutouts and 343 strikeouts on the year, holding their opponents to a .196 batting average. Together, Missouri's pitchers managed three straight wins by shutout to capture the Big 12 crown at the Championships held in Oklahoma City, Okla. Additionally, the strong arms of Delaney and Thomas aided in Missouri's three straight wins at the NCAA Regional Championships and two wins in the best-of-three NCAA Super Regional series with second-ranked UCLA.
A third year assistant coach, Tucci works primarily with Missouri's outfielders. In 2009, the Tigers notched a .971 fielding percentage, tying their best average since 2004, a mark that stands second best in program history.
NCAA Division I Coaching Staff of the Year: Washington (51-12)
Central Region: Baylor (40-22)
Great Lakes Region: Michigan (47-12)
Mid-Atlantic Region: Radford (41-15)
Mideast Region: Bradley (26-28)
Midwest Region (tie): Missouri (50-12) North Dakota State (38-20)
Northeast Region: UMass (41-10)
Pacific Region: Washington (51-12)
South Region: Alabama (54-11)
Southeast Region: Florida (63-5)
West Region: Stanford (48-11)
