University of Dallas Softball Home Page

Lady Crusaders 2008 Season Recap

Softball Season Comes to a Close

The UD softball team ended the season on a strong note – taking 3 out of 4 from Sul Ross State University. The Crusaders were hit hard by injuries, and were forced to cancel 8 games due to weather, but the team had many bright spots in a sometimes frustrating season. Despite the bad luck with weather and the injury bug, the team had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles, CA, and Colorado Springs, CO – marking down strong wins on each of those trips.


The team had several dominating victories, and many of their losses were by two runs or less. The team displayed both their underlying potential and their willingness to fight with strong showings against more than one ranked team, including UT-Tyler (ranked #1 in the nation for much of the season); hitting back-to-back home runs off of Tyler’s ace. The team also held another successful tournament this year over spring break, attracting some of the top NCAA division III teams. The year also featured the breaking of the career stolen bases record by sophomore speedster Sharlie Staab (Hays, KS/TMP – Marian). She broke the record with an incredible 22 stolen bases this year, added to her 24 from last season to pass the previous career record of 27 on March 5. This year’s team also worked hard to improve their team fielding percentage – a trend they look to continue in 2009!


With a once again healthy team, and a strong incoming freshman class, the UD softball team looks forward to a strong season in 2009. The team will not lose any players to graduation and hopes that it can build on the development that took place during the 2008 spring season. The pitching staff will be key to the team's success and hopefully a more productive record in the following season. All three pitchers showed progress throughout the season and will be working hard in the off-season to come back even stronger. With the battery of Michaela Coghlan (Dallas, TX/Bishop Dunne), Rachel Hoelker (Sugar Land, TX/St. Agnes Academy), and Jessica “Belle” Swaja (Hillsboro, OR/Hillsboro H.S.), the team looks to have a dominant pitching staff in the 2009 season. The team plans to build on the offensive success that it had this past season. The Crusaders had 5 players with batting averages over .300, averaged 4.1 runs per game led by the 22 RBI of sophomore Amber Adams (Dallas, TX/Dallas Christian Academy) and powered by Coghlan’s .444 batting average. With all the promise shown during the 2008 season, the team looks forward to a successful 2009.

For the latest Crusader Softball news and results, visit Softball News .

Program History

The softball program was established in 2002 behind head coach Venera Flores. The team experienced immediate success, going 17-14 in its first season. After 6 seasons the softball programs cumulative record is 85-90. After two seasons current coach Rachel Hanson has 29 wins, 1 behind the winningest and first coach to lead the program, Venera Flores. In recent years, the UD softball team has had the opportunity to play games in locations such as Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Colorado Springs, CO.

The Association of Division III Independents

The University of Dallas is a charter member of the Association of Division III Independents. Please click on the heading below to check out all the latest information.