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Lamar Lady Cardinals
2024 Lamar Lady Cardinals softball team
Founded1983 (Restart: 2013)
University Lamar University
Athletic directorJeff O'Malley
Head coach Amy Hooks (6th season)
Conference Southland
Location Beaumont, TX
Home stadium Lamar Softball Complex (Capacity: 500 [1]
767 including berm seating)
Nickname Lady Cardinals
ColorsRed and white [2]
   

The Lamar Lady Cardinals softball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team competes in the Southland Conference. The Lady Cardinals are currently led by head coach Amy Hooks. The team played its home games at the off–campus Ford Park for the first two seasons following the program restart in 2013. The Lady Cardinals began playing home games at the Lamar Softball Complex located on the university's campus starting with the 2015 season. [3]

History

AIAW era

LU first sponsored softball from 1971 [4] through 1977 [5] competing in the AIAW. Lamar finished second in the 1972 AIAW Texas state tournament. In addition to other head coaching duties, Pat Park was the Lady Cardinals head coach for the initial seasons. Coach Park also served as women's head coach for basketball, tennis, and golf while she was at Lamar.

NCAA Division I era

In 1983 Lamar added softball as an NCAA Division I sport and competed in the Southland conference. Tryouts for the team were held on October 16, 1982. [6] The sport was dropped in 1987 when Lamar left the Southland Conference. Patty Calvert was head coach during the 1982–1987 period.

On April 22, 2011, Athletic Director Larry Tidwell announced plans to reinstate college softball as an NCAA Division I sport at Lamar University. [7] On August 1, 2011 former Morehead State head coach Holly Bruder was announced as the finalist to fill the head coaching position at Lamar after over 20 years with no program at the university. [8] The Lady Cardinals finished fifth in the Southland Conference in their first season of competition (2012–13) following the restart of the program. The team also earned a berth in the Southland Conference softball tournament. [9] Holly Bruder was removed as head coach on May 11, 2018. [10] On June 20, 2018, Amy Hooks was named as head coach for the team. [11]

Off–campus Ford Park was the home field for the first two seasons after the program was restarted. A new on–campus stadium was constructed in 2014–15. On October 17, 2014, a ground breaking ceremony for the new Lamar Softball Complex was held. The first game at the partially completed on–campus stadium was played on March 6, 2015 against the Houston Baptist Huskies. The stadium was completed following the 2015 season.

NCAA Year–by–year results

Source: [12] [13] [14]

Season Conference Coach Overall Conference Notes
Games Win Loss Tie Games Win Loss Tie
NCAA Year–by–Year Results
1983 [13] Southland Patty Calvert 45 5 40 0 8 1 7 0 5th (3rd South Zone)
1984 [13] Southland Patty Calvert 56 13 43 0 8 1 7 0 5th (3rd South Zone)
1985 [13] Southland Patty Calvert 42 14 28 0 12 6 6 0 5th
1986 [13] Southland Patty Calvert 33 14 19 0 12 8 4 0 3rd
1987 [13] Southland Patty Calvert 35 9 26 0 12 3 9 0 T–3rd
Patty Calvert [15] 211 55 156 0 52 19 33 0
2013 [16] [13] Southland Holly Bruder 59 24 35 0 27 14 13 0 5th
2014 [17] [13] Southland Holly Bruder 50 20 30 0 26 12 14 0 8th
2015 [18] [13] Southland Holly Bruder 54 26 28 0 23 14 10 0 5th
2016 [19] [13] Southland Holly Bruder 57 35 22 0 27 18 9 0 4th, SLC tournament championship game appearance
2017 [20] [13] Southland Holly Bruder 65 34 31 0 27 17 10 0 4th, SLC tournament appearance, finalist – NISC
2018 [21] [13] Southland Holly Bruder 56 28 28 0 27 11 16 0 9th
Holly Bruder [22] 341 167 174 0 158 86 72 0
2019 [23] Southland Amy Hooks 57 23 34 0 27 14 13 0 7th
2020 Southland Amy Hooks 21 9 12 0 3 0 3 0 Season cut short by COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Southland Amy Hooks 51 8 43 0 27 4 23 0
2022 WAC Amy Hooks 49 11 38 0 24 5 19 0
2023 Southland Amy Hooks 56 22 34 0 24 12 12 0 4th, 2023 SLC tournament appearance (2–2)
2024 Southland Amy Hooks
Amy Hooks [24] 234 73 161 0 105 35 70 0
Team
Overall
765 286 479 0 288 140 172 0

(Results reflect games through May 12, 2023.)

Yearly attendance

Below is the Lady Cardinals' home attendance since the 2012–13 restart of the program.

Season Average High
Yearly Home Attendance
Lamar Softball Complex
2023 [25] [26]
425
542
2022 [27] [28]
249
550
2021- [29] [30]
108*
119*
2020 [31] [32]
280**
386**
2019 [33] [34]
215
467
2018 [35]
371
505
2017 [36]
316
466
2016 [37]
375
588
2015 [38]
292***
440***
Ford Park
2014 [39]
290
359
2013 [40]
338
618

*Note: Attendance restricted to 119 fans due to COVID19 precautions. [41]
**Note: Games after March 10, 2020 cancelled due to COVID19 precautions.
*** Note: Temporary seating.
As of the 2022-23 season.

Post season appearances

National Invitational Softball Championship

The Lady Cardinals have participated in one national tournament, the inaugural National Invitational Softball Championship which started in 2017. The team compiled a 6–3 record in that tournament losing to Liberty in the championship game.

Year Record Pct Notes
2017 6–3 .667 Beaumont, TX Regional; Beat Louisiana–Monroe (7–5), Beat Abilene Christian (6–1), Lost to Louisiana–Monroe (1–2), Beat Louisiana–Monroe (3–2)
Lynchburg, VA Championship; Beat Cal Poly (8–6), Beat Illinois State (2–1), Beat Kennesaw State (5–4), Lost to Liberty (5–8), Lost to Liberty (1–3) in the championship game.
TOTALS 6–3 [42] .667 1 National Invitational Softball Championship appearance

Conference Tournaments

Sources: [43] [44] [45]

Year Conference Record % Notes
Southland Conference Tournament Results
1983 Southland 2-2 .500 Consolation bracket finals
1984 Southland 0-2 .000 Consolation bracket 1st round
1985 Southland 1–2 .333 Consolation bracket 2nd round
1986 Southland 1-2 .333 Consolation bracket 2nd round
1987 Southland 0–2 .000 Consolation bracket 2nd round
did not field team from 1987-88 to 2011-12
2013 Southland 0-2 .000
2015 Southland 2-2 .500 3rd place
2016 Southland 3-2 .600 Runner up
2017 Southland 1-2 .333 2nd round
2019 Southland 0-1 .000 Single elimination opening round
2023 Southland 2-2 .500 3rd place
Total 13–21 .382 11 Appearances

Awards and honors

Sources: [46]

Southland Conference

All Conference First Team

  • Donna Dugas 1985, 87
  • Teresa Fuxa 1986
  • Tina Schulz 2014
  • Bryn Baca 2016, '17
  • Brittany Rodriguez 2016, '17
  • Kendall Talley 2018
  • Jade Lewis 2019

Hitter of the Year

  • Donna Dugas 1986

Newcomer of the Year

  • Laura Hall 1985
  • Ciara Luna 2016
  • Jade Lewis 2019

References

  1. ^ "2020 Quick Facts" (PDF). Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  2. ^ Lamar University Athletics Visual Standards Manual (PDF). Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "Softball Breaks Ground for New Stadium". Lamar University Athletics. October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Lamar University broke ground today for a new softball stadium on campus that will be ready for the upcoming season.
  4. ^ "Women's Sports". Lamar University Press. September 15, 1972. Retrieved October 25, 2014. This makes the second year 'that Lamar University has had a women's softball team. Last year the team ranked second in the state tournament.
  5. ^ Abe Martin (October 19, 1977). "Card softballers end '77 agenda by defeating IBC". Lamar University Press. Retrieved October 25, 2014. The Lamar girls' softball team travelled this weekend for their last tournament of the year.
  6. ^ "Softball tryouts set". Lamar University Press. October 13, 1982. p. 3. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  7. ^ "Lamar announces plans to move forward with softball LAMAR CARDINALS Official Athletic Site". www.lamarcardinals.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19.
  8. ^ "Bruder tabbed as new head coach - NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-15.
  9. ^ David Berry (May 15, 2013). "Bruder gives her thoughts on the Lamar softball season". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  10. ^ James Dixon (May 11, 2018). "Bruder Removed as Head Softball Coach". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  11. ^ James Dixon (June 20, 2018). "Amy Hooks Tabbed as Softball Head Coach". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "Lamar University Softball Record Book" (PDF). Lamar University Athletics. p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Archived Team-By-Team Final Statistics". NCAA. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  14. ^ "Southland Conference 2015 Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. pp. 11–17. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  15. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Coach (Patty Calvert)". NCAA.org.
  16. ^ "2013 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  17. ^ "2014 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  18. ^ "2015 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  19. ^ "2016 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  20. ^ "2017 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  21. ^ "2018 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  22. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Coach (Holly Bruder)". NCAA.org. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "2019 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  24. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Coach (Amy Hooks)". NCAA.org. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  25. ^ "Lamar University Cardinals (22-34) RPI Ranking 195 2022-2023 Softball". NCAA. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  26. ^ "2023 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  27. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Softball - 2021-2022". NCAA. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  28. ^ "2022 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  29. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Softball - 2020-2021". NCAA. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  30. ^ "2021 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  31. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Softball - 2019-2020". NCAA. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  32. ^ "2020 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  33. ^ "NCAA Statistics - Softball - 2018-2019". NCAA. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  34. ^ "2019 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  35. ^ "2018 Lamar University Softball Statistics Summary for Lamar University (FINAL) (All games)" (PDF). Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  36. ^ "Archived Team-by-Team Final Statistics". NCAA.org. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  37. ^ "Archived Team-by-Team Final Statistics". NCAA.org. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  38. ^ "2014 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  39. ^ "2014 Softball Season". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  40. ^ "2013 Softball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  41. ^ "LU Athletics Announces Attendance Policy for LU SB/SOC Complex". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  42. ^ "2017 Results". Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  43. ^ "Southland Conference 2015 Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. pp. 31–38. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  44. ^ Pat Murray (May 13, 2016). "LU fall to McNeese in finals". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  45. ^ "2017 Southland Conference Softball Tournament". Southland Conference. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  46. ^ "Southland Conference 2015 Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 22. Retrieved January 10, 2015.

External links