|
Debbie Hedrick begins her 14th season as the UT Arlington head softball coach. In 13 seasons as the Mavs leader, Hedrick has mentored her squad to two Southland Conference regular season titles, a SLC tournament title, a school record 41 wins (2003) and the program's first NCAA tournament berth (2003) while combining for a 328-320-2 overall mark. In 2009, Hedrick guided five Mavericks to Southland Conference post-season honors and led UTA to their 12th SLC conference tournament appearance. The Mavs finished the season with a 23-24 overall record, including a 17-13 mark in conference action. UTSA ended UTA's season in the second day of the Southland Conference Tournament in Lake Charles, La. Hedrick lead the Mavericks to a 27-22 overall mark and a second place with a 20-10 record in 2008. Last season, Hedrick earned her 300th career victory in a double-header sweep over SLC opponent Southeastern Louisiana on April 26, 2008. The Mavericks leader also guided five players to All-Southland Conference selections in outfielder Katie Jones, catcher Samantha Chumchal, shortstop Amanda Swofford, pitcher Cara Hulme and third baseman Whitney Simpson. For the second consecutive season, the Mavericks finished at the top of the Southland Conference in batting, recording a .281 average and ranked first in fielding percentage with a .974 average. Hedrick earned her second Southland Conference Coach of the Year honor in 2007 after leading the Mavericks to their second regular season conference title with a 19-5 record in SLC play and 36-16 finish overall on the season. With the help of coaches Angela and Vince, Hedrick and the Mavericks had their first SLC Player and Hitter of the Year in right fielder Katie Jones. Another first for 2007 was pitcher/utility player Heather Fortenberry earning SLC Freshman of the Year honors. In 2007 the Mavs also set new team season records in batting average (.303), runs scored (247), home runs (55), extra-base hits (137) and RBI (237) Hedrick enjoyed a record breaking season in 2003 as the Mavs rolled through league play to finish with an astonishing 23-4 record on their way to the Southland Conference regular season title, the first in Hedrick's tenure at UTA. The Mavs weren't finished as they went on to sweep the conference postseason tournament to take home the school's first softball tournament crown. UTA continued to break records as they set a school record for wins in a season after snapping Florida State's 27-game winning streak, the nation's longest at the time, by defeating the Seminoles 1-0 in the NCAA Regional in Gainesville, Fla. UTA went on to win one more game in the regional, eliminating host Florida, in the Mavs first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. After such a successful season, Hedrick was honored by her peers as the 2003 SLC Coach of the Year. As a student-athlete at Louisiana Tech from 1987-90, Hedrick became one of the best pitchers in the NCAA history. Hedrick was a three-time All-American at Louisiana Tech. She had her jersey retired by her alma mater in 1996. Hedrick enters the 2009 season still holding three NCAA records: most games in a career (193); most complete games in a career (182) and most shutouts in a single season (36). In addition, she ranks second in career wins (149) and career shutouts (84) while ranking third with 50 single-season wins. The 2002 NCAA record book also lists Hedrick among the top 20 all-time single-season records 12 times. In the fall of 2003, Hedrick was inducted into the Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame. Hedrick, now in her 14th year on UTA's coaching staff, having served as UTA's top assistant coach in 1995 and 1996. During those two years, UTA's hurlers were among the SLC leaders in earned run average, and Kimberlee Johnston was an honorable mention All-SLC performer in 1995. Since taking over the reigns, she has guided UTA's first-ever first team GTE Academic All-American, Lisa Verheul. Hedrick also guided standout pitcher Katy Cox to SLC Pitcher of the Year and SLC tournament MVP honors in 2003 as the Mavs ace led the league with a 1.31 earned run average. Before coming to UTA, the Mesquite native was an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech in 1990 while completing her degree in business administration. When she is not on the field with her team, the Mavs coach spends most of her time with her husband, Wayne, and daughters, Shelby and Peyton. |
||||||||||||||||
