Posted: May 31, 2021
National Championship Finals Series Notes for Texas Lutheran Softball
(Additional Notes for Texas Lutheran Softball as they face Virginia Wesleyan for the NCAA Division III Softball National Championship on Monday and Tuesday in Salem, Va. Monday's first game of the best 2-of-3 series starts at 2 p.m. central / 3 p.m. eastern from Salem, Va. Games two and three (if necessary) will be played on Tuesday in Salem.)
Bulldogs Seeking 13th National Championship In School History
- If the Bulldogs were to defeat Virginia Wesleyan for the national championship, the title would be the 13th all-time national championship in Texas Lutheran history. The 2019 softball title is the only NCAA Division III team championship in school history. TLU does have four other D3 titles in individual events in men's and women's track & field.
- TLU Softball is trying to become the third TLU program to win back-to-back national titles. Bulldog Football accomplished the feat in 1974 and 1975 in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). Bulldog Women's Volleyball went back-to-back in 1975 and 1976 in the AIAW (the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women).
- Current TLU Director of Athletics Bill Miller was a member of the 1974 and 1975 NAIA Championship teams in football.
- TLU Softball Head Coach Wade Wilson is trying to join TLU Hall of Famers Jim Wacker (football) and Susan Duke (women's volleyball) as the only Bulldog coaches with two national championships on their resume'. (Current TLU Men's Basketball coach Mike Wacker is the son of the late Jim Wacker.)
- TLU Softball's appearance in the national championship finals series this year marks the third consecutive season (not counting the COVID season of 2020) that a Bulldog squad has played for a national championship in baseball or softball. TLU Baseball was the national runner-up in 2018.
- TLU Baseball tried to join TLU Softball in a national championship finals series this year, but the Bulldogs lost Sunday - on the second-to-last day of the Whitewater, Wis. Regional. That loss, to UW-Whitewater, ended the nationally-ranked Bulldogs' season at 30-14. The Bulldogs were two wins shy of going to the D3 World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
On That Prior Meeting Between TLU & VWU
- Each team has five players on its roster that played in the only prior meeting between the two teams. VWU won that contest 5-0 on March 4, 2018 at the NFCA First Pitch Tournament in Tucson, Ariz.
- The five players still on the roster for the Marlins are: outfielder Julia Fassl, catcher Jessica Lindsay, infielder Julia Sinnett, outfielder Maria Weddle, and pitcher Hannah Hull.
- The five players that played in that game and are still on the roster for TLU are: outfielder McKay Bloxham, infielder/pinch runner Kali Chatham, infielder Haley Padilla, outfielder Skylar Ouellette, and outfielder Kelly Jurden.
- VWU's Hannah Hull tossed a two-hit shutout of the Bulldogs in that 2018 meeting. She struck out nine and walked three. The TLU hits came from current player Kelly Jurden and former player Kelsie McEachern.
- Current TLU volunteer assistant coach Jordaine (pronounced Jordan) Bishop tossed four innings of shutout relief for TLU in that meeting. She struck out four, allowed just two hits, and did not walk a batter.
- At the time of that first meeting, VWU was ranked No. 1, and TLU was ranked No. 9. VWU won the national title that season. TLU lost in the regional final to University of Texas at Tyler.
- That meeting in Arizona is the only meeting in the history of the two programs.
Senior Class Leaving Historic Mark On TLU & TLU Softball
- With the COVID-19 season of 2020 affecting eligibility and choices regarding when to graduate, the Bulldogs have several players classified as juniors athletically that already graduated this May and will not be coming back for a fifth year.
- The May graduates in this group of "juniors" include: starting shortstop Kali Chatham (Bachelor of Arts), starting first baseman Haley Padilla (Bachelor of Science) and starting outfielder Skylar Ouellette (Bachelor of Science). Padilla graduated Cum Laude, and Ouellette graduated Magna Cum Laude. Volunteer assistant Jordaine Bishop also graduated this May, and she also earned Magna Cum Laude honors in obtaining her Master of Accountancy.
- Senior designated player/outfielder Rebecca Snow and senior pitcher Kayla Oliveira will graduate in December, and senior outfielder Kelly Jurden will graduate next may with a bachelor's and master's degree. Jurden, a two-time Academic All-American, is a mathematics and computer science major. She is pursuing her master's degree in data analytics.
- While completing her master's degree, Jurden plan to play one more year of softball for TLU.
- Since the core group of Kelly Jurden, Skylar Ouellette, Kali Chatham, and Haley Padilla stepped on the field as freshmen for the Bulldogs in 2018 (the 2017-18 academic year), the Bulldogs are 133-16 overall. That's an overall winning percentage of .893. These four players have lost one combined conference game, going 63-1 (.984 winning percentage).
- With this core group of Jurden, Ouellette, Chatham, and Padilla in place, the Bulldogs are 19-3 (.864) in NCAA tournament play (counting regional, super regional, and national championship finals action).
Re-Writing The TLU Record Books
- Kelly Jurden has tied the school single-season runs record, at 59. It's a record she shares with Ashley Jacobsen (2013) and herself (2019). Jurden is on pace to set the school record for runs per game. Even if the Bulldogs play three games over Monday and Tuesday and Jurden does not score, she will still set the new record for runs per game.
- Kelly Jurden's hits per game rate of 1.436 currently sits fifth on the all-time TLU Softball list.
- Rebecca Snow is three RBIs away from tying Taylor Yancey for the single-season record. Snow currently has 51. Yancey produced 54 in 2016.
- Rebecca Snow's 16 doubles this year put her in a tie for third on the TLU single-season list. She is three from tying Yancey for second. Yancey also has the top doubles mark, with 25 in 2016.
- Haley Padilla has broken the TLU single-season home run record, with her 11. She passed the mark of nine that she previously shared with Heather Hummel (2016). Padilla also hit nine in 2018.
- Both Rebecca Snow and Sarah Metzer could eclipse the school record for single-season batting average. The record of .476 is held by Taylor Yancey, who set it in 2016. Snow enters play today at .500, and Metzer is at .493. Jurden also has a shot at passing Yancey. Jurden is hitting .471 going into today.
- Kelly Jurden set the school and conference record for stolen bases with her 61 back in 2019. Jurden needs five steals to tie and six to break her records. This year she has 56 steals in 59 attempts.
- Jurden has surpassed Chrissie Rolla's 1995 school record for single-season walks. Rolla had 28. Jurden now has 29.
- Snow and Metzer are on pace to smash Haley Padilla's single-season slugging percentage record. Padilla slugged at a .742 rate in 2018. Snow currently sits at .811, and Metzer is at .776.
- The single-season on-base percentage record for TLU might also fall. Megan Armistead (2015) holds the record at .569. Jurden is at .580 going into action today.
- Kelly Jurden is four runs from tying and five runs from passing Ashley Jacobsen for the school record in career runs. Jacobsen finished with 181 through four years (2012-15). Jurden currently has 177 in 3.5 seasons.
- Kelly Jurden currently sits third on the TLU all-time hits list. She has 198, having just passed Melissa Ramey (195). Grace Estes is in second with 204. Ashley Jacobsen is the all-time leader with 246.
- Kelly Jurden is also second all-time in career walks, with 77. She is four from tying Grace Estes' career record of 81.
- Kelly Jurden's career on-base percentage of .512 is the current school record.
- Skylar Ouellette drove in her 99th and 100th career runs yesterday in the win over Birmingham-Southern. Her RBI total puts her in a tie for sixth on the all-time list. Taylor Yancey (2013-16) holds the record with 141.
- Skylar Ouellette also sits in a tie for fourth in career doubles, with 35.
- In two-and-a-half seasons with the Bulldogs, Rebecca Snow has 89 career RBIs, which ranks 13th all-time - one RBI behind current teammate Haley Padilla.
- Rebecca Snow's career batting average of .448 is the best in school history for players with more than 200 at-bats. Her total of 29 doubles is just three behind her sister's, Nicole Snow Resendez, who sits seventh all-time in the category.
- Rebecca Snow's on-base percentage of .509 is also the second-best in school history for players with at least 200 at-bats.
- Haley Padilla's 23 home runs are a school career record. She is 12th in career RBI and currently second all-time in career slugging percentage (.641).
- Right-hander Sydney Ouellette is one win from moving into fifth on the TLU single-season list for pitching wins. Ouellette is 16-2 in 2021.
- The 2021 version of TLU Softball currently has the following single-season school rankings:
• 3rd in runs (316) - record is 375, set in 2016
• 3rd in RBIs (265) - record is 331, set in 2016
• 1st in HRs (32) - old record 27, set in 2017
• 2nd in Avg. (.378) - record is .384, set in 2016
• 1st in Slugging Pct. (.560) - old record .544, set in 2016
• 1st in On-Base Pct. (.473) - old record .453, set in 2019
• 5th in Stolen Bases (156) - record is 195, set in 2019
• 2nd in Walks (153) - record is 159, set in 2019
• 6th in Wins (35) - record is 43, set in 2016
• 4th in Consecutive Wins (27) - record is 38, set in 2017)
• T1st for HRs in single game - 4 - most recently against Cedar Crest in Seguin Regional